Written by Liam Mitchell.
“Meatball” Molly McCann set out on her Cage Warriors debut with only one goal in her mind, and that was to walk away with a victory. The only person standing in her way on Saturday night was battle tested American Lacey “The Ladie” Schuckman.
Filled with excited Liverpudlians, the Echo Arena had been lively all night, but really erupted for the first time when the beloved Scouser made her walk. Sitting cage side, I felt the ground shake, I could barely hear myself talk. Chants of “Molly, Molly, Molly” echoed around the arena, and Molly entered the cage. As expected, the introduction from Andy Friedlander got a massive pop from the crowd, and then it was fight time.
The American had a very interesting game plan, opting to stay in her corner for the majority of the fight. The deafening crowd roared Molly on as the first round started, and the 4-1 fighter pressed forward, feinting with shots before throwing hard combinations. For the most part in round one, the American planted her feet and traded shots with McCann.
After a positive first round for the underdog McCann, Schuckman knew she had to change it up, and that she did. After a few failed takedown attempts, the Invicta and Strikeforce veteran again traded punches with McCann, dropping the Liverpudlian momentarily. After a moment of dead silence, the Next Generation fighter rose and the crowd again roared. Fuelled by the energy, “Meatball” stepped in looking to strike, but ended up on her back.
Schuckman picked her up, dumped her down, and managed to control her for the rest of the second round. During the interval between the second and third round, there was a very tense atmosphere in the arena.
The 28-year-old American knew she had to get the takedown, and she did. Following a moment of despair, the Liverpool crowd starting chanting the name of McCann, and after the volume grew louder and louder, she was able to get to her feet. Red in the face, “Meatball” clenched her fists, bit down on her mouthpiece, and got back to work. She controlled the centre, and tagged Schuckman time and time again, pressing the action until the final horn.
Nobody in the arena – barring the judges – knew who had won, but McCann was confident enough to scale the cage, and hold her arms up in celebration. It was at this point that McCann broke down in tears, acknowledging how tough her camp, and the fight were. The tension built as Andy Friedlander announced the scorecards, but when he uttered the words “Molly McCann”, it was all happiness.
In her post fight interview, the born and bred Liverpudlian explained how hard she had worked in this camp, and how so many things had gone wrong, highlighting the death of her cousin, who’s funeral she missed in order to weigh in on Friday. Taking everything in and embracing the moment, McCann left the cage, and walked to the back, where she was greeted by her team, many who also fought last night.
You can watch The Sprawl’s post fight interview with McCann below.
