UFC star Molly McCann has opened up about her struggles with her sexuality in a tell all documentary.
The Liverpudlian fighter is gearing up for a UFC bout on Saturday, March 19 but has spoken about other fights she has come across in her life. Molly, more affectionately known as ‘Meatball’ current focus is primarily on her clash with Luanna Carolina at UFC Fight Night 204, as she builds towards her ultimate goal of becoming flyweight world champion.
However, prior to this, Molly had a bigger challenge on her mind. The 31-year-old came out as gay six years ago but before that, by her own admission, she had ‘ran from’ her sexuality with the notions of public perception and a catholic upbringing deterring her from living life as her true authentic self, as reported by The Mirror.
The new BT sport documentary, Meatball Molly, will detail her rise in MMA as well as the adversity she has faced along the way.
Speaking more about the discrimination she continues to battle, Molly said: "When I was younger I wouldn't even entertain being gay because society wouldn't like it. Look I'm 31 now, I came out when I was 25, imagine what it was like when I was 10. Religion wouldn't let you.
"My religion wouldn't let me. Until I found MMA and had a safe space to be me, then I could be like 'I'm Meatball now'. Imagine how hard it still is for some people to come out now though. I'm from a lucky generation as well, imagine the generation before me and the one before that. In the 1960s when the Stonewall riots happened - it was illegal to be gay."
Molly, a former Cage Warriors flyweight champion, also praised the UFC for embracing fighters of all backgrounds.
She added: "I think the promotion that I work for champions equality which helps now. There are females fighting the same amount of rounds, and the same amount of minutes, as men. They celebrate a man or a woman. Obviously, no male has come out in the company yet but for Gay Pride week, they made everyone's fight in rainbow fights. And they put so much money towards LGBTQ plus charities."
However, whilst Molly is now at ease with her personal life, tellingly, there are still those in society that aren't.
She added: "It does state in the documentary that sometimes, even now, when I'm walking down the street holding my girlfriend’s hand and have got people looking at me like a piece of s**t, do you think that's an easy thing to do?" she continued.
"It's just not fair but I don't moan about it, I just get on with it."
Molly McCann takes on Luana Carolina on a card headlined by Tom Aspinall's heavyweight bout against veteran Alexander Volkov.
