Molly McCann and Paddy Pimblett go together like bread and butter. Two incredibly hard-working Scousers, the pair instantly bounced off one another when they first met at their hometown's Next Generation MMA under head coach Paul Rimmer. And while their individual journeys to the top flight of mixed-martial arts have been incredibly different, the pair of loveable fighters have been side-by-side since day dot.
McCann - now 34 - took up karate, kickboxing and Thai boxing from an early age before making the move to boxing when she was 12, having also dabbled in the world of football with Liverpool Women. A reported ankle ligament injury forced her to step away from the beautiful game, but with a sporting mentality in her blood, a career in mixed-martial arts blossomed soon after. After watching Ronda Rousey submit Liz Carmouche at UFC 157 to win the women's bantamweight strap, McCann sent Rimmer an email detailing how she wanted to be like the game-changing athlete one day.
She started training at Next Gen the very next week. After two years of gruelling training, McCann made her pro debut at Shock 'N' Awe 20, 254 miles from home in Portsmouth - beating Katy Horlick very TKO in the very first round. McCann also became well-acquainted with Pimblett at Next Gen, who was also carving out a route to the UFC in his own right at around the same time.
Pimblett picked up a love for MMA in his teenage years, and has gone on to earn a second-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under.