UFC Star Molly McCann Booked for Strawweight Debut at February Event
Fan favorite Molly “Meatball” McCann will attempt to snap a two-fight skid when she returns to the UFC Octagon in February.
A former Cage Warriors champion, McCann when 3-3 through her first six UFC bouts before she put together an impressive three-fight win streak from 2021-2022 that included back-to-back finishes via spinning elbow.
“Meatball” had her winning run snapped by Erin Blanchfield before she was also submitted by Julija Stoliarenko last July. McCann announced her intention to drop down to the strawweight division shortly after the Stoliarenko loss, and now she’s set to make her UFC strawweight debut in a rematch with Diana Belbiţă on February 3.
Belbiţă and McCann previously met in 2019 at a UFC Fight Night card in Boston where “Meatball” won via unanimous decision. That bout was Belbiţă’s UFC debut, and following another loss to Liana Jojua the Romanian made the move down to strawweight in 2021.
“The Warrior Princess” has gone 2-2 in the strawweight division and most recently lost a decision to former title challenger Karolina Kowalkiewicz in October.
Belbiţă will likely be eager to avenge her previous loss to McCann when the pair meet in February, and it will be interesting to see how easily "Meatball" is able to make the cut to strawweight for the first time since an amateur bout in 2014.
The UFC Fight Night card on February 3 is scheduled to take place at the UFC Apex facility in Las Vegas, and the night’s headlining bout will be a matchup between top middleweight contenders Roman Dolidze and Nassourdine Imavov.
Stick with MMA Knockout for more daily coverage of the UFC and MMA.