Rising UFC star Molly McCann has joked that she was "thinking about giving up MMA" as she watched Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano clash at Madison Square Garden earlier this year.
The No.15-ranked UFC flyweight had just had a star-making victory at the first UFC London of the year when she travelled to New York to watch Taylor defeat Serrano in an historic night of fights. There, she witnessed a sold out crowd of Irish and Puerto Rican fans cheer on two icons of the sport, which gave her pause after having boxed in her youth.
McCann's boxing base has lent itself well to MMA, but she has previously indicated that at some point she would be interested in getting back in the ring once more for a professional outing. And that desire was sparked in the famed arena, where she will fight for the first time on Saturday night against Erin Blanchfield at UFC 281, reports The Mirror.
READ MORE: Katie Taylor sent 'no more excuses' message over Croke Park fight by Chantelle Cameron
"Listen, I was half thinking about giving up MMA and doing boxing," she told Mirror Fighting of her emotions at the event, joking that she was begging promoter Eddie Hearn to get her a fight in the venue. "I was like 'Eddie, Eddie, please let me fight here' when I was talking to Eddie Hearn.
"But no, the UFC and MMA is where I wanted it to be. I got a picture outside Madison Square Garden and I did say to my partner 'next time we come here I'm going to be fighting'. She said 'I know you are' and here we are now."
McCann is on the prelim portion of the event, but is still being heavily pushed as one of the stars of a stacked show, which is headlined by Israel Adesanya's middleweight title defence against Alex Pereira. Her face adorns billboards across Times Square to advertise the event; a far cry from her humble beginnings in Liverpool.
"When I was a little kid and I used to box I remember running along the docks in Liverpool," McCann explained. "You know the way your mind starts going to places where you would imagine all of these amazing scenarios? I would always imagine and think 'one day this will be my thing'.
"In my wildest dreams, this is what I imagined and being here is so surreal - it's a proper 'pinch me' moment. But in the same breath it's like "I'm really where I'm supposed to be at this point in my life."
READ NEXT:
Andy Farrell admits Ireland facing prospect of depleted squad against Australia as injury list grows
Tadhg Furlong says his Ireland captaincy is for his tribe and Saturday could get emotional
England World Cup squad named as Gareth Southgate reveals 26-man panel for Qatar
Caoimhin Kelleher sets Liverpool record that made Jurgen Klopp say "wow"
Ronan O'Gara reiterates interest in coaching England after Rugby World Cup
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
