UFC star Molly McCann admits won't be able to have a drink in celebration if her friend Leah McCourt wins at Bellator 285 this weekend.
McCann is just weeks away from her pay-per-view debut at Madison Square Garden, where she will fight Erin Blanchfield on the main card of a star-studded UFC 281 event. She faces a stern test in the No.12-ranked American, and won't be drinking until after that bout on November 12.
And she has joked she will be switching the "bevvy" for pre-workout as she celebrates with No.5-ranked McCourt on Friday night, assuming she can get past Dayana Silva at the 3Arena. The Belfast fighter is a fan favourite in Dublin, and will get a monstrous reception should she land another home win on the promotion's return to Ireland.
"I can still go out," McCann joked during a chat with Mirror Fighting . "What I like to do is just have pre-workout! No, I'll just get on the Monster Energy and the water. Honestly, we prefer to just come back to the hotel and see everybody who has put the time in during the fight camp, really."
The Liverpool fighter, along with her long-time friend Paddy Pimblett, has blown up in worldwide popularity this past year after highlight reel knockouts and memorable celebrations. But she's playing second fiddle this week to McCourt, the Irish star who is looking for the win that could propel her towards a shot at the legendary featherweight champion Cris Cyborg.
McCourt and McCann met around seven years ago, just after the Irishwoman had won her first IMMAF amateur world title. At the time, McCann was heading for a title fight in the paid ranks at Cage Warriors, with the UFC on the horizon shortly after. The pair quickly hit it off and have been best friends ever since.
"We were both getting ready for a Cage Warriors, I think," McCourt recalled, before McCann added: "I was getting ready for a world title and Leah had just won the IMMAF world championship. I knew she was supposed to fight on Cage Warriors in Bournemouth and I said 'do you want to come and get some work in?' I didn't realise how big she was and I had a look at her and was like 'oh'. She just rag-dolled me around for a few weeks but that was years ago."
They've lived together in the build-up to this weekend's fight, with McCourt's daughter Isabella also moving into McCann's house for the Irish fighter's first full camp in Liverpool. The plan, it would appear, is for McCourt to ultimately move over full time and train alongside her best friend as they pursue gold in the two biggest organisations in MMA.
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"I've been training in Next Gen since I started my professional career," McCourt explained. "Now and again I'd go back-and-forth, I was always real close with Paul Rimmer the head coach. Then after I main evented [at Bellator Dublin in February 2020] I was going to move there but the pandemic came and it wasn't possible so this is divine timing. Isabella comes and stays with us, she walks into Next Gen and just sits in Paul Rimmer's chair."
"All she wants to do is see my dog Frank, she just babysits him. But [when she visits the gym] she's like the queen of Next Gen," McCann added. "She tells Paul Rimmer to move!"
The Scouse fighter has become a star in part due to her personality, but also a pair of stunning performances inside the octagon, where she has brutally knocked out opponent with a spinning elbow. McCourt, better known as an expert grappler, won't be unleashing the same technique on Friday night.
"I'm going to shout to her 'Meatball', just shout it," McCann joked, with McCourt adding: "If there's five seconds left in the fight I might try it as a joke. She went viral for landing it, I'll go viral for missing it and making a fool of myself!"
