'You can beat your dreams if you don't stop': UFC fighter defies grisly facial injury to seal win

'Meatball' Molly McCann survived a suspected broken orbital bone which caused enormous swelling around her left eye to become the first English woman to earn a UFC victory at Saturday's event in London.

McCann, whose eye resembled something more akin to her nickname by the end of the third round of her UFC London bout with Brazil's Priscilla Cachoeira, was awarded the unanimous decision by the cageside judges after three hard-fought rounds.

The Merseysider former Cage Warriors champion was unsuccessful in her hometown UFC debut last May when she suffered a second-round submission defeat against Gillian Robertson in Liverpool. This time around though, she wasn't prepared to leave England's capital city without having her hand raised - even despite one of the more severe eye injuries seen in the Octagon in recent times. 

Following the bout McCann told UFC commentator Dan Hardy that she had endured a difficult year since her debut defeat, imploring the capacity crowd inside the O2 Arena to never give on their dreams, a message she echoed while in the ambulance on the way to hospital - along with some very colorful language.

It was a historic win for McCann who, at the second time of asking, becomes the first English woman to have even won a fight inside the UFC's Octagon.

The fact that it took place in front of her compatriots will make it all the sweeter.