Molly McCann knew it was time.
On a night short on finishes and completely devoid of KOs, McCann, a Liverpool women’s MMA pioneer, fell victim to one of the four submission defeats at the O2 Arena in London.
As it turns out, it will be her last fight in the UFC and in the sport of MMA.
Following a first-round submission loss to late-replacement opponent Alexia Thainara, McCann removed her gloves and issued an emotional retirement speech in the Octagon.
McCann was critical of her own performance in light of the fact that Thainara was facing her on a week’s notice. “It’s not good enough,” McCann said. “I’m not coming in here just for the payday. The UFC deserves more. I deserve more, and you all deserve more.”
McCann laid her gloves in the center of the Octagon, and while she didn’t say it in her post-fight interview with Michael Bisping, you get the feeling she’d made up her mind that she was going to walk away if she lost to Thainara.
Take a look at the post-fight interview:
McCann is a former Cage Warriors women’s flyweight champion. She stormed on the UFC scene with a huge personality and fan-friendly fighting style in 2018. McCann earned a shot in the UFC that year, but she lost her promotional debut to submission wiz Gillian Robertson in September 2018.
Submission defense would turn out to be her Achilles’ heel throughout her career. McCann finishes her career 14-8, with four of those losses coming by submission.
After losing to Robertson, McCann went on a run. She won three fights in a row in 2019. She lost back-to-back unanimous decisions to Taila Santos in her next two fights.
However, McCann rebounded with her most memorable streak as she won three straight. The win streak was highlighted by back-to-back KO wins via spinning back elbow.
McCann won a performance bonus in all three of those fights. Since the streak ended, McCann has gone just 2-4, with three of the losses coming by way of first-round submission finish.
At 34, McCann believes she has accomplished all that she can in the sport and is walking away as one of the region’s most beloved fighters.
Here is a look at all of the results from UFC London.
UFC London Results
- Welterweight Bout: Sean Brady def. Leon Edwards via fourth-round submission (guillotine)
- Light Heavyweight Bout: Carlos Ulberg def. Jan Błachowicz via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
- Welterweight Bout: Kevin Holland def. Gunnar Nelson via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
- Women’s Strawweight Bout: Alexia Thainara def. Molly McCann via submission (rear-naked choke)
- Lightweight Bout: Chris Duncan def. Jordan Vucenic via second-round submission (guillotine)
- Featherweight Bout: Nathaniel Wood def. Morgan Charrière via unanimous decision (30-27×3)
UFC Fight Night London Preliminary Card Results
- Lightweight Bout: Chris Padilla def. Jai Herbert via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
- Flyweight Bout: Lone’er Kavanagh def. Felipe dos Santos via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
- Heavyweight Bout: Marcin Tybura def. Mick Parkin via unanimous decision (29-28×3)
- Middleweight Bout: Christian Leroy Duncan def. Andre Pulyaev via unanimous decision (30-27×2, 30-26)
- Women’s Strawweight Bout: Shauna Bannon def. Puja Tomar via second-round submission
- Bantamweight Bout: Caolan Loughran def. Nathan Fletcher via split decision (29-28×2, 28-29)
- Lightweight Bout: Kaue Fernandes def. Guram Kutateladze via unanimous decision (30-27×3)