Molly McCann’s star kept rising Saturday in front of her home British fans at UFC Fight Night 208.
McCann (13-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC), from Liverpool, took out Hannah Goldy (6-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) with a first-round TKO in their women’s flyweight bout and set the fans at The O2 in London into a frenzy. Ahead of McCann’s finish, those fans had endured eight decisions in the first nine fights.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this before in combat sports in the U.K. – getting behind a female athlete,” McCann said. “To see everyone else on this card who let you down, I won’t let you down.”
McCann threw first and missed, then tried to get inside with a combination a few seconds later. Just 30 seconds in, they nearly tied up and Goldy landed a solid knee. But seconds later, McCann landed a one-two, then pushed Goldy back with a right hand.
Goldy faked a takedown, then 90 seconds in made good on an attempt and drove McCann to the fence. She kept her tied up there for a while before McCann finally broke away just past the midway point of the round. Goldy went after a takedown again right after that, but ate a punch from McCann. McCann landed a solid right counter, then pushed Goldy to the canvas with 90 seconds left.
McCann let Goldy up quickly, then made her pay the price.
McCann landed a big right hand, then a spinning back elbow and hurt Goldy. The elbow was a quick reminder of McCann’s March win in London, which she finished with the same move.
After the elbow, McCann pounced. With several quick punches, Goldy hit the canvas. A few punches more were all Herb Dean needed to see to stop the fight.
McCann tore to the fence and went over the top of it and out into the crowd to celebrate her TKO, which came at the 3:52 mark of the opening round.
McCann has won three straight. In March at UFC Fight Night 204 in London, she picked up a post-fight bonus for a spinning back elbow knockout of Luana Carolina. That win came on the heels of a Fight of the Night decision win over Ji Yeon Kim in September 2021. Goldy has lost three of her past four.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 208 results include:
Molly McCann def. Hannah Goldy via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 3:52
Volkan Oezdemir def. Paul Craig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Ludovit Klein def. Mason Jones via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Marc Diakiese def. Damir Hadzovic via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Nathaniel Wood def. Charles Rosa via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Jonathan Pearce def. Makwan Amirkhani via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 4:10
Muhammad Mokaev def. Charles Johnson via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Jai Herbert def. Kyle Nelson via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Victoria Leonardo def. Mandy Bohm via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Nicolas Dalby def. Claudio Silva via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 208.
