Now back in the win column, McCann looks to keep that momentum
going on home soil. McCann’s UFC debut was one of the more
prominent subplots when the promotion held its first card in
Liverpool, England—the hometown of “Meatball”—back in 2018. A
popular scrapper, the hope was that McCann could hit the ground
running and cause some problems for the flyweight division.
Instead, she suffered a one-sided loss to Gillian
Robertson that ended in a submission. While that was a bit
deflating, McCann did well to regroup and gut out three straight
wins. That looked like it would be McCann’s role going forward—too
unathletic and one-dimensional of a striker to have much of a
ceiling but too durable and aggressive to slide off the
roster—until a shocking breakout in 2022. The UFC made two trips to
London that year, and somehow each one saw McCann land a knockout
finish with a spinning elbow. Combined with the hype surrounding
her friend and teammate Paddy
Pimblett, McCann had a bit of a moment until things quickly
went sideways. Erin
Blanchfield and Julija
Stoliarenko brought back McCann’s historical problems against
bruising wrestlers, as each quickly mauled her on the mat and
scored a submission. That was enough for McCann to cut down to
strawweight earlier this year, and amusingly enough, she now seems
to be playing the role of bruiser herself. Most of her technical
acumen went out the window against Diana
Belbita, but she overwhelmed her with physicality and
aggression before scoring the first submission of her career.
Brasil is an interesting next test for McCann at 115 pounds, even
if it’s still a bit hard to know what to make of the Brazilian
herself. Long for the division, Brasil looks excellent when she has
a clear physical advantage on her opponents. A sharp kicking game
gets most of the headlines, but Brasil’s wins usually see her also
able to neutralize opponents in the clinch when they attempt to
close the distance. However, there’s also a clear line where
opponents provide enough resistance that Brasil’s game falls apart.
Denise
Gomes quickly imposed her will in what turned out to be a
one-sided win, and Konklak
Suphisara’s practiced muay thai approach was enough to stay
ahead of Brasil despite a clear size disadvantage. McCann might be
messy but she’s durable, and it’s also hard to see Brasil scaring
her off, particularly with the added confidence that “Meatball”
seems to have as a strawweight. The pick is McCann via
decision.
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