UFC star Molly McCann has admitted she was emotionally overwhelmed before her fight against Erin Blanchfield
McCann, 32, was tapped out by rising prospect Blanchfield in her pay-per-view debut for the UFC in November. 'Meatball' was unbeaten in three fights heading into the clash, picking up consecutive spinning elbow knockouts against Luana Carolina and Hannah Goldy in London.
The string of wins propelled McCann to stardom as she became a household name in the promotion, alongside sidekick Paddy 'The Baddy' Pimblett. McCann admitted that just months before fighting Blanchfield, she was becoming overwhelmed with the publicity that came hand-in-hand with her newfound fame and was crying every day for several months.
"In August, I hit my ceiling in terms of my mental capacity," she told Sky Sports. "I was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. I was getting to grips with being fairly known - but nobody can prepare you for not having a personal life anymore. There were four months where every day I was waking up and this horrible heartbeat wasn't leaving me.
"This dull anxious feeling in my belly and I couldn't stop crying. I was just completely done in and I couldn't cope with how much my life had changed and my mind hadn't been given time to catch up. It got to the point where I was out and crying on the phone, yet people were coming over and wanting this, wanting that. I was in such a bad way and I'm crying but people won't stop."
McCann was on the brink of being cut from the UFC after losing decisions to Taila Santos and Lara Procopio, but she revived her career by going on a three-fight winning streak. The 32-year-old has been able to ground herself since losing to Blanchfield and is excited to have her first Christmas away from training in almost a decade.
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"I was upset because I was thinking, 'why are you not reading the situation?'. That was hard, but it taught me to slow down, be humble, and be static. I used to go out for tea quite a lot, but I've been out for dinner twice since that fight. I've just stayed home, cooked my own dinners, walked my dogs, and I needed that grounded, normal life and being more of a home bird," she added.
"I feel like I've reset there. I've not had a Christmas off in about eight or nine years, as I usually have a fight lined up in February. Me, my partner, one of my coaches and his family are all going out to Tenerife for about three weeks."
