Molly McCann Could Make a Run in the Flyweight Division
Molly McCann lit up London’s O2 Arena once again at UFC Fight Night 208. For the second time in a row, she landed a spinning elbow knockout that put her opponent out cold. This time it came against Hannah Goldy. After a streak of impressive victories, it looks like McCann may be able to make a run in the flyweight division.
McCann’s last loss was back in 2021 when she fell to Lara Fritzen, which was her second loss in a row after she was beaten in 2020 by Taila Santos. However, that loss has aged well after Santos nearly dethroned women’s flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko, at UFC 275. Following those losses, McCann won three fights in a row as she pushed her MMA record to 13-4. This win streak has put her in a tremendous spot.
Over her last three fights, McCann has shown a lot of growth. First off, she has been able to land a lot more power shots. Her two spinning elbow knocks are her only UFC knockouts. In addition, she looked good on the feet in each fight. Against Goldy, it took McCann a second to figure out the distance, but she eventually found the proper range and began to land a lot of solid strikes. Overall, I think the 32-year-old has improved a lot on the feet. She has been able to consistently land solid boxing combos much more efficiently and that has helped her get a couple of wins.
On the ground, McCann is a solid grappler. Is she outstanding? No, but she is good enough. She has solid takedown defense and good grappling. In the future, she could run into problems against elite-level grapplers, but I do not think that time will come soon.
Overall, with the right matchups, McCann could make a run in the women’s flyweight division. Do I think McCann will be a champion? Probably not. However, she can utilize her power and solid boxing to beat a number of ranked opponents. I expect the future to be plentiful for McCann.
