British flyweight fighter Molly McCann announced her retirement from mixed martial arts immediately following a surprising defeat to Alexia Thainara at the recent UFC event in London.
McCann, 34, was beaten by Brazil`s Thainara, who was making her debut in the organization. Thainara secured the victory by taking McCann to the ground and applying a rear naked choke submission.
Following the loss, the former flyweight contender signaled the end of her career by taking off her gloves inside the octagon, a moment watched by her emotional teammate, Paddy Pimblett.
In her post-fight comments, McCann addressed the UFC and Dana White, saying, “I started this sport at 24 and I have given you all my heart and soul. Tonight, with that performance on a week`s notice, it`s not good enough – the UFC deserves more.”
She reflected on her journey: “From a little girl from Norris Green fighting in arenas – look at me, look at what I`ve managed to do.”
McCann retires having competed professionally for a decade, accumulating a record of 14 wins in 22 fights.
She had previously faced significant adversity, including suffering a fractured leg in a tough defeat to Bruna Brasil in July last year at UFC 304.
“I`ve been to hell and back,” McCann had stated prior to her fight with Thainara, referencing her recovery and mental state after that previous loss.
The defeat to Brasil had been a particularly difficult period for McCann, but she pushed herself to return stronger. “I was probably at my lowest,” she added. “I took it really hard because I had trained so much, I didn`t cut corners and even when you give everything you don`t deserve to win and that was the bitter pill I had to swallow.”
“I was beat up, my body was in bits, I was just grieving but I wouldn`t be doing this if I had one ounce of doubt that I shouldn`t be.”
Other Results from UFC London
In another significant bout at the event, American Sean Brady achieved the most important victory of his career with an impressive submission win over former welterweight champion Leon Edwards. This result stunned the London crowd at the O2 Arena and significantly boosted Brady`s standing as a contender for the title currently held by his compatriot Belal Muhammad.
Brady controlled the fight effectively, ultimately forcing Edwards to submit via a guillotine choke at 1:39 of the fourth round.
With Belal Muhammad scheduled to defend his championship against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315 in May, Brady is now considered a frontrunner to challenge the winner of that contest.
Edwards, 33, was competing for the first time since losing his title to Muhammad in July of the previous year. He initially handled Brady`s relentless forward pressure well in the opening round, but the momentum shifted dramatically once Brady took the fight to the ground.
In the co-main event of the evening, New Zealand`s Carlos Ulberg secured a unanimous decision victory over Polish former champion Jan Blachowicz in their light heavyweight encounter. This win extends Ulberg`s unbeaten streak to eight consecutive fights and moves him closer to a potential title shot in his division.
