UFC’s Molly McCann: ‘I ran from my sexuality until the wheels fell off’

Liverpool’s Molly McCann has spoken about her struggles embracing her sexuality, opening up in a new documentary that is set to air on BT Sport next month.

Meatball Molly, titled as such in reference to the UFC flyweight’s nickname, will air on BT Sport 2 on 15 March, just days before McCann fights at UFC London.

In the film, which will also be available on the BT Sport website and app after its initial release, McCann discusses her upbringing on Merseyside, her legacy as the first Englishwoman to fight in the UFC, and her journey to come to terms with her identity as a gay woman.

“I come from a traditionally Catholic background, I come from a city where people weren’t really gay, and growing up my mom had a lot of gay friends, but I just always never thought too much into it,” the 31-year-old says in the documentary.

“Looking back now, I realise those behaviours were running away from who I was, because I didn’t want to be that way. But the first time I’d probably accepted myself was at the age of 25.

“People would take the p*** out of, annihilate, assassinate my character by saying like ‘lesbo’ or ‘gay’ or ‘d***’. These are the kinds of words that are thrown at you from this age as a derogatory term. So now you imagine I’m growing up, I wouldn’t even explore that idea, because I was that scared to get crucified with that word or that name. Family, friends, everyone was like that.”

McCann made her professional mixed martial arts debut in 2015, before arriving in the UFC in 2018. She has compiled an 11-4 record and will face Brazil’s Luana Carolina at the O2 Arena on 19 March.

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Elaborating on her struggles with her own sexuality, McCann says in the new film: “I absolutely ran from it until the wheels fell off, until I couldn’t run no more. And then I found myself at the age of 25. I fell in love with a woman, and she was really amazing in terms of allowing me the space to come out – and to come out at my speed.

“People just don’t know the shame that you get made to feel for being gay. It’s horrible sometimes – the looks, even laughs. I would still say I struggle with being openly gay, or walking down the street holding my girlfriend’s hand. Because of the looks that you get, it makes you feel inferior, and it’s not nice.

“[But] my surrounding people didn’t judge me, and I constantly thank MMA and that community for that, because they allowed me to be me. And they accepted me for me.”

McCann also discusses the online abuse that she has received since coming out as gay, saying: “The thing that I only really get trolled online about is my sexuality. And it’s not even like I’m forcing it down your throat. But I do think if people can see really how hard it is for me to talk about it, then they know what a massive thing it is for me to try and help break down those barriers for other people also.

“That is why I wrote a children’s book [Be True To You] for kids, for them to know that like we’ve all done it and we’ve all been there.

“I just wrote a short book for kids that’s illustrated about my life and how I came out, and how I was bullied. And then at the end of the book, there’s a space for them to then speak about their story.”

BT Sport will premiere Meatball Molly, the latest documentary from BT Sport Films, on BT Sport 2 on Tuesday 15 March at 10:30pm and is available to watch via the BT Sport website and app thereafter.