Liverpool fighter Molly ‘Meatball’ McCann has proved she is a force to be reckoned with and is now 25th place in the UFC Women’s flyweight rankings.

The Norris Green fighter hardly burst onto the scene as she lost her first fight in the UFC Octagon but persistence paid off to earn a four-fight contract in the UFC after winning 2 consecutive bouts.

McCann’s breakthrough came in September 2021 when she stepped into the arena with the fellow debutant and Liverpudlian Paddy Pimblett, both won their fights, the rest is history.

The former Cage Warriors champion faces a serious step up in opposition at Madison Square Garden on November 12 on the undercard of Israel Adesanya vs Alex Pereira.

McCann will face 23-year-old Erin Blanchfield, 3 places above her in the UFC rankings after winning nine out of her first ten professional MMA fights.

So what after that? Here are five potential opponents.

  1. Jessica Andrade

After losing two places in the rankings, Andrade has dropped down to 6th place in the Women’s Flyweight rankings. If the Meatball can get past Erin Blanchfield, she would move up to 12th place leaving the scouser only six rankings behind the Brazilian.

For McCann this would be the perfect matchup as they both specialise in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu with McCann holding a purple belt and Andrade with the black belt.

The former UFC Strawweight champion of the world holds a professional record of 23-9, meaning this would be Molly’s toughest opponent yet, an opponent who she would relish.

2. Casey O’Neill

O’Neill first fought professionally on Eternal MMA which is at the forefront of combat sports in Australia and New Zealand with events on the Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. The Scottish born MMA fighter had a record of 5-0 when coming into the UFC and has won four fights in a row, her last in UFC 271 against Roxanne Modafferi.

After withdrawing from her fight against Jessica Eye at UFC 276 with a torn ACL at training O’Neill will miss the rest of 2022 and the start of 2023.

 

  1. Miranda Maverick

Miranda Maverick’s victory over Shanna Young last weekend is bound to increase the chances of a face off between McCann and Maverick in the future.

After McCann’s stunning victory with a spinning elbow at UFC London Maverick called out the Meatball on twitter and has said that the former Cage Warriors champions has not fought legitimate competition in the UFC yet.

  1. Antonia Shevchenko

The sister of flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko came into the UFC undefeated in her professional career and only suffered her first loss against Roxanne Modafferi. She featured in the fight of the night with victory over in her next Lucie Pudilová.

McCann plans to fight Antonia at some point during her career as a stepping stone to champion Shevchenko. McCann is still unsure exactly what the future holds: “I’m going to be deadly honest with you, sometimes I go back and forth in my mind, am I who I think I am? Am I going to leave the legacy I think I am? I believe I’ve learned all the lessons that are supposed to be learned.”

  1. Manon Fiorot

Coming into the UFC at the start of 2021 season, the French woman has impressed with victories over number eight ranked Jennifer Maia a professional from 2009 and Katlyn Chookagian who is now number three in the rankings due to her loss against Fiorot.

The former firefighter would be a dream opponent for the Merseysider. If she gets the chance to fight ‘The Beast’ it is likely to be for the flyweight championship.

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