Molly McCann could return to combat sport competition following her retirement from the UFC, but in boxing rather than mixed martial arts.
The Evertonian announced her retirement after tapping out to Alexia Thainara last month at UFC London, following a decade in the sport.
While the 34-year-old has said she’ll return to competitive sport, she stood firm against any potential appearances in ‘influencer’ boxing.
“I’m sure in a few weeks we’ll know what I’m doing, there’ll be a big announcement somewhere I imagine,” she told Sky Sports in an exclusive interview.
“[I’ll do] competition in some sport. Whether it be football, hyrox or, I don’t know, pickleball, paddleball. I wouldn’t rule anything out.”
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Paddy Pimblett watched on in tears as McCann made an emotional retirement speech
But when asked about boxing she confidently stated: “I wouldn’t rule anything out.
“If I was offered boxing, I wouldn’t want to do Misfits [boxing with social media influencers], and that’s not a disrespect to the people that do it.
“I feel we’ve all been young and we’ve had the limelight on us and all acted a bit idiotic at times.
“But I don’t think I have ever disrespected the sport of MMA or boxing and when I watch Misfits stuff, you’re just teaching the younger generation, ‘yeah, I’ll throw a microphone at your head. I want to have a face-off just to try and go viral.’ We’re just teaching the wrong things.
“I’ve not been the greatest role model because I’ve always liked a bevvy and got fat and all that kind of thing after fights.
“But I have always tried to have decent integrity, and I just don’t see that there. I have never gone somewhere for money. I’m still waiting for offers, so we’ll see.”
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McCann discusses the impact that MMA has had on her life and being a role model in the sport
Since announcing her retirement, McCann has finally had the time to look back on her career and the impact she has had on the sport.
Some of her personal highlights include winning with Paddy Pimblett, a long-time friend, in Vegas, getting into UFC, jumping on Stormzy, and Drake buying her a Rolex.
“Whether people want to admit it or not, I changed the game,” McCann said. “I might not have won the world titles, but I have absolutely had a knock-on effect.
“Coming up and coming through with Patrick [Pimblett] for the eyes to be on me and him.
“For women in this sport and the legacy is just there. More people will do this now because of me stepping foot in it.
“I see it a lot every day when I pop into gyms and there’s girls in there, I know I’ve done my job and left the sport in a better place than when I came.”
McCann’s MMA journey was far from linear, having signed for Liverpool FC at just 16 and working in a sandwich shop to support herself, which earned her the nickname “Meatball” Molly.
She never thought of herself as someone who was naturally gifted, but instead dedicated all her efforts to the sport.
McCann reflected: “This was a girl who was making sandwiches and found something she was half alright at and gave her whole self to it.
“That’s just a message to anyone in life, whether you want to run a business, start a family, or you just want to be a better person in general.
“You don’t have to be the best at that, you just have to work at it and give yourself to it.”
