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New sport aged 35. World title within eight fights. The first UFC fighter to win a boxing world title. Headline at Goodison Park.<\/b><\/p>\n
For Molly ‘Meatball’ McCann, all the above is on her hit list. On Saturday she steps into the boxing ring for the first time as a professional, six months after she retired from MMA and 16 years after she last boxed.<\/p>\n
McCann was a promising amateur before switching to MMA, winning an ABA title.<\/p>\n
The odds are stacked against McCann but she is used to that. Her naysayers were often louder than her supporters during her UFC career.<\/p>\n
“Since I was a little girl, my dream was to be a world champion in boxing,” she says.<\/p>\n
“I’m not here to believe people can put down my dreams and ambitions and what I want to be.<\/p>\n
“I kind of let that happen in the MMA world and now it’s time to take back who little Molly was and why she started fighting.”<\/p>\n
McCann’s training base is at No Limits Boxing Gym in Liverpool. Her interview with BBC Sport takes place moments after a session, in a little room upstairs with a shower in the corner.<\/p>\n
As it gets started, McCann leaves for a moment to ask the gym floor to keep the noise down. They oblige.<\/p>\n
Despite never reaching the very top of the UFC title mountain, McCann retired as the most famous female MMA fighter the UK has ever produced.<\/p>\n
With performance and sponsorship bonuses included, she earned upwards of \u00a350,000 for her last UFC fights.<\/p>\n
While women’s boxing has boomed in the last five years, MMA was one of the few places female athletes could earn as much as their male counterparts.<\/p>\n
Some might think money is the motivation for McCann’s latest move.<\/p>\n
Ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou earned millions more than his best UFC pay day when he crossed into boxing in 2023.<\/p>\n
But for McCann, that is not the case.<\/p>\n
“That’s not the reason. I’m sure the money will come,” McCann says.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think people should be in combat sport just to make money.<\/p>\n
“I think it’s very dangerous. I’m taking a big cut to come to boxing because I wanted to do it and I love it.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n