Molly McCann came out on top in her strawweight debut, when she faced old rival Diana Belbita at UFC Vegas 85: Dolidze vs Imavov. The pair squared off on the top of preliminary card live from UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday, February 3.
McCann claimed the win, forcing Belbita to tap via armbar. The fight was stopped at 4 minutes and 59 seconds into the first round.
With her first victory by submission, 33-year-old Molly McCann of Liverpool, England improved to 14-6 and returned to winning ways. Romania’s 27-year-old Diana Belbita dropped to 15-9 and suffered her second defeat in a row.
The pair first met in October 2019 in Boston. After three rounds at flyweight, McCann was victorious by unanimous decision.
“It feels amazing [to fight at the new weight class],” Molly McMann said in her post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier. “I’d like to take this time to apologise to the UFC, to my fans and to myself for not being at the right weight, and for all my other fights and for my last two performances. But today I forgive myself and we can move forward.”
“Just say less, do more. Say less, do more. The plan was to be a world champion, [it] didn’t work at 125. You know, DC, when the plan doesn’t work you don’t change the goal, you change the plan. Obviously, I pushed through and coach Paul promised me this would happen and I’ve listened, so.”
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