Molly McCann will come again.
Whether you believe in Octagon jitters or not, one thing’s for sure and that’s that there is no quit in Liverpool’s McCann.
McCann endured something of a nightmare UFC debut in her home city on Sunday night as she was choked unconscious by opponent Gillian Robertson on the prelims of UFC Liverpool.
‘Meatball’ missed weight a day earlier, coming in at 127lbs for the scheduled flyweight contest, but after agreeing to forfeit 20 per cent of her fight purse to Robertson, the fight went ahead.
McCann insisted that she’d kept trying right up to the final moments of her weight cut and that’s exactly what she did in the Octagon on Sunday night as she refused to tap to the tightest of rear naked chokes.
It's over!! @savage_ufc steps puts Meatball to sleep at #UFCLiverpool! pic.twitter.com/68gwra07EK
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) May 27, 2018
While she looked relatively comfortable on the feet in the early exchanges, McCann was clearly out of her depth on the ground and struggled to cope with the grappling game of Robertson towards the end of the opening frame.
The second round was essentially all Robertson, who patiently tired the Scouser out before sneaking her forearm under McCann’s chin.
The finish was reminiscent of Miesha Tate’s famous submission win over Holly Holm in 2016 as McCann continued to look for punches as she lost consciousness.
A true warrior, ‘Meatball’ refused to tap and hopefully she will get the chance to show her skills once more in the ultimate proving ground for mixed martial artists but it just wasn’t her night tonight.
