Danni McCormack ahead of Centurion FC Fight: “Everything has been on the upward trajectory”

Danni McCormack could not have prepared herself for the aftermath of her fight with Stephanie Page at Bellator 275 in the 3Arena last February. Fighting in front of family and friends is a dream for almost anyone who chooses to step inside the cage, but losing in front of loved ones can turn that moment into a nightmare. 

McCormack (5-1) came into that fight undefeated in her professional career and high on confidence. After getting clipped and hurt on the feet in the first exchange, McCormack struggled to recover and although she refused to lay down and take the defeat, she fought until the ref had seen enough and the contest was stopped in just under two minutes. The weeks after that defeat were difficult for the SBGHQ & Relentless Martial Arts strawweight, as they would be for anyone in that situation. 

“The first week or two after it happened I was devastated, I took the defeat pretty hard. But I dusted myself off, picked myself up soon after and the loss has been a blessing in disguise. That experience has given me so much fuel and so much motivation to get better so after the initial disappointment, everything has been on the upward trajectory in terms of progression and getting better. The loss to Stephanie was definitely a huge blessing in disguise.”  

“The result forced me to change up some of my training in general. We have been fixing some of my striking errors and we have been working on a more safer striking style. It’s very handy to be married to my striking coach so that we can sort some of those issues out.”

McCormack has the chance to get back inside the win column this Saturday, July 2 at Centurion Fight Championship in Fort St Elmo, Malta. Her opponent standing across the cage will be Manuela Marconetto who fights out of Great Britain Top Team and the Italian brings a strong grappling pedigree into this contest. McCormack feels that some of the changes in her preparations will be beneficial and is more than ready for the challenge ahead. 

“My training for this camp, I just feel that we have built up a real momentum in each session. I’ve been training really hard all the time because of that extra fuel and motivation that comes from picking up your first loss.” 

“Manuella is a grappler, she has quite an annoying style where she just was to grab a hold of you and push you up against the cage. In some of her previous fights when she has come up against grapplers she has kept her distance and tried to fight on the outside at range.”

“She doesn’t have fantastic striking or BJJ so I imagine when she gets in there with me that she will try to push me against the fence. The problem for Manuella is that nobody has ever been able to do that to me in the past so I don’t see her being the one that can push me back and control me on the cage fence.”

“This camp, we have spent a lot of time working on defending those movements. I feel that this fight is going to go however I want it to go. It’s going to be striking into takedowns and I’m going to be looking to land some big ground and pound. I don’t see my opponent having too much success in this fight if I’m being honest.”

Currently under contract under Bellator, McCormack was allowed to take this fight in order to stay active. She will return to the promotion and has eyes on the upcoming card which is set to take place back in the 3Arena in September. MCCormack is refusing to look too far ahead into the future with all eyes on her latest challenge against Manuela Marconetto this weekend. 

“The plan for me  is to fight on the Bellator card in September. But right now all eyes are on Manuela Marconetto this weekend and I’m concentrating on the task at hand.” 

Centurion Fight Championship: New Era will be streamed live on Twitch on Saturday, July 2nd at 9pm local time. The card will also feature some more talent for SBGHQ as Kiefer Crosbie headlines the event. Cian Cowley, Nate Kelly and Stephen Costello will also feature on the card alongside McCormack. 

Link for event: https://www.twitch.tv/platincasino_official