Cory McKenna: Welsh fighter wins in Las Vegas to earn UFC deal
- Published
Cory McKenna celebrates after her victory over Vanessa Demopoulos
Cory McKenna has become the first Welsh woman to earn a UFC contract after beating fellow strawweight Vanessa Demopolous on the latest Dana White's Contender Series bill in Las Vegas.
The 21-year-old does much of her training in the United States with UFC legend Urijah Faber's Team Alpha Male.
McKenna beat American Demopoulos, 31, by unanimous points decision.
That led UFC president White to add her to his contracted fighters list, which includes four Welsh men.
"She's tough, she's well-rounded, she's willing to bang, she's got great groundwork, she's sweet as can be, she has great interviews," White said of McKenna.
"She's sweet but when she gets in there she's a killer and I love that about her.
"My only reservation with her is she's super young, so we started looking at the top 15 and people we thought she could fight and how she'd match up.
"I'm on the fence about her, she's young and I think she could get a lot of experience at these other places but I just got back from vacation and I'm in a great mood tonight so I'm gonna give her a shot and see what she's got."