LONDON – Molly McCann is enjoying the calm of this fight week.
McCann (13-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) takes on Julija Stoliarenko (10-7-1 MMA, 1-5 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 224 co-main event at The O2 in London. The event streams on ESPN+.
After scoring back-to-back Performance of the Night knockouts in London, McCann’s star skyrocketed. But after a dominant loss to Erin Blanchfield in her most recent outing at UFC 281, things have calmed down – and it’s been quite refreshing.
“I feel like this is the calmest UFC I’ve probably ever been a part of,” McCann told reporters at Thursday’s UFC Fight Night 224 media day. “The hotel’s calm. There’s no one here. We’ve just been able to relax. I think it’s my fourth UFC London, so it feels very much like I’m back at home.”
The loss to Blanchfield was a tough pill to swallow for McCann, but she used the opportunity to take a step back after a hectic past couple of years.
“I had the best fight camp of my life,” McCann said. “I brought in amazing training partners, I leveled up, and I think I just didn’t get what I thought I deserved. I got the worst outcome I’ve ever received in a fight. I went away. I took time off.
“I kind of had to reset because I feel like I’ve been on this very high trajectory. It was very fast. It was a lot to have to deal with for any human, and I just had to ground myself a bit and realize my whole world isn’t fighting.”
In hindsight, McCann’s loss to Blanchfield aged well. Blanchfield went on to submit former champion Jessica Andrade in her first UFC main event this past February and is thought by many to be a future title challenger.
“Erin’s a stud,” McCann said. “I don’t think any of us really knew the level of her, and I think watching her win her next fight was a little bit easier for me to take the blow (of losing to her).”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.
