By:  | September 6, 2021 9:18 am

Ji Yeon Kim and Molly McCann put on a show at the UFC Vegas 36 in what was an action-packed affair.

Both fighters come from a boxing background and the English fighter looked to push the pace from the outset as she let her hands fly. The southpaw caught Kim with several big overhand lefts as Kim unleashed a tidy body shot with the right.

Having enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, McCann then appeared to clash heads with Kim on her way in. The Korean fighter capitalized and was able to fire off a flurry of knees as the pair clinched against the fence.

Absolute barnburner

The pair then resumed trading blows with a furious pace as both landed a flurry of combinations. McCann found a home for a trio of left hooks before the bell and the tone had been set for an absolute barnburner.

Switching stances at the start of the second round, McCann was able to land with some clean rights crosses. Kim responded with a pair slick one-two combinations.

The Syndicate MMA fighter then began to add some left low kicks to her attacks but continued to get touched up by the right hands from ‘Meatball’ as swelling began to appear on the left eye.

Content to circle on the outside, Kim closed the distance well to tag the Brit with her own right cross before uncorking with another neat one-two.

Bigger shots

Both fighters continued to land with volume as McCann switched stances and was landing the bigger shots with 90 seconds to go in the second round. She is smaller than Kim abut was able to find her range brilliantly as she unleashed some monstrous shots on the inside.

Having uncorked with a flurry of heavy punches, McCann followed up with a takedown at the end of the round.

McCann secured some heavy shots with the left hand at the start of the third. Kim kept her at bay well with short left hooks and landed four clean punches in a row. The Korean’s fundamentals looked razor-sharp while the forward pressure and power strikes landed from McCann was equally impressive.

Fight of the night

Kim was landing with greater volume, but McCann appeared to be making her shots count more as she knocked her opponent’s head back with the left.

As the fight reached the final minute, McCann stepped up the pace even further. The crowd could be heard chanting, ‘Meatball! Meatball! Meatball!’ and she duly obliged with a barrage of huge shots before screaming at her opponent in what was a truly vintage display from both fighters.

The unanimous decision took McCann’s record to 11-4 while Kim slides to 9-4-2. Both fighters will take home $50,000 USD after earning a fight of the night bonus for their efforts.

UFC Vegas 36, Las Vegas, September 4th
Derek Brunson def. Darren Till by Submission (Rear naked choke) at 2:13 of Round Three
Tom Aspinall def. Sergei Spivac by TKO (Elbow and punches) at 2:30 of Round One
Alex Morono def. David Zawada by Decision (Unanimous)
Modestas Bukauskas def. Khalil Rountree by TKO (lLeg kick) at 2:30 of Round Two
Paddy Pimblett def. Luigi Vendramini by KO (Punches) at 4:25 of Round One
Molly McCann def. Ji Yeon Kim by Decision (Unanimous)