Northern Irish MMA star Leah McCourt has praised her ‘Siamese twin’ Molly McCann for supporting her during her career.
The Saintfield striker is coming off the back of only her second loss of her career and returns to the cage for the first time since that defeat when she takes on Dayana Silva (10-7) on Friday night at Bellator 285.
The 30-year-old (6-2) and McCann have been friends for years and have trained together for McCourt’s last number of fights. The UFC star will be in McCourt’s corner again this Friday, and in the buildup to the fight McCourt has spoken about the bond the two share.
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“Molly’s been here since the start of my professional career,” revealed McCourt.
“We’ve been through the wins and losses together.
“I live with her when I’m in Liverpool.
“We train together, we go home together, we wake up in pain together and we complain together.
“It’s like a siamese twin to go through the motions with.”
Life as a professional athlete is very rarely as glamorous as one might think. Far away from the bright lights of the Three arena, the daily grind of training can take a toll on a fighter.
A pro MMA fighter since 2017, ‘The Curse’ knows all about how difficult the fight life can be. With a friend like McCann to lean on however, that weight of pressure on your shoulders can be eased.
“It’s so nice because it can be so lonely when you’re on your own,” explains McCourt.
“Nobody really understands what you go through mentally and how difficult it is.
“It’s just been the best camp that I’ve had so far.”
In her most recent fight, McCourt lost by decision to Sinead Kavanagh, a loss that she feels poor decision making led to. Seven months have passed since that defeat, and the featherweight is keen to learn her lesson and cut out any sloppy mistakes when she steps into the cage with the dangerous Brazilian.
“I learnt a lot from the last fight with regards to decision making,” McCourt said of the Kavanagh loss.
“The fight went perfect the first 20 seconds and then I got caught in the same kimura as the fight before and that was a big lesson for me.
“To make the right decision in difficult situations and that’s a big thing that I’ve done my whole camp.”
McCourt’s road to the top is a path less travelled by most fighters. As a mother to a twelve year old daughter, she has had to make some serious sacrifices in her life.
A history maker, McCourt became the first female fighter to headline a major MMA event in Europe when she defeated Judith Ruis in Dublin a couple of years ago. On Friday night, she returns to Dublin and is in one of the biggest fights on the card, a prospect unimaginable when she began her amateur career eight years ago.
“When we started fighting and had like absolutely nothing, and not knowing why we were doing it because we didn’t know whether we were going to get paid”d or make it.
“It’s definitely when I look back, why I appreciate these moments because I know they’re not going to be here forever.
“I’m proud of myself and the journey I’ve been on.”
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