UFC flyweight Molly McCann has called out Stephen A Smith, after his opinions on women's MMA, by telling the ESPN analyst to 'meet in the car park.'
UFC was one of the leaders in promoting women's sport on equal footing to the men's sport, thanks in part to the massive appeal and popularity of Ronda Rousey.
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The women continue to have a prominent position in the sport, even with the retirement of Rousey, with the likes of Amanda Nunes, Weili Zhang and Valentina Shevchenko leading the way.
Smith caused controversy earlier in the week when he said he didn't want to see women in UFC or boxing and McCann has his back.
Speaking ahead of her fight on Saturday night against Lara Procopio, the English fighter said, "How can you say that when you're on such a platform?" the 30-year-old asked Insider.
"Could you imagine Serena Williams watching that? It's not just fighters he'll have offended. It's every sportswoman and maybe every sportsman.
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"Stephen Smith needs to give his head a wobble. When I win on Saturday, I'm going to say something on the microphone: 'I'll see you in the car park!'"
Smith, who wasn't even asked about women in MMA, started by saying, "First of all, I love it. I think there's an awful lot of women who are incredibly qualified to do the jobs they're doing."
He then followed up, adding, "When I think about pugilistic sports, I don't like to see women involved in that at all. I just don't like it.
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"I wouldn't pass, I wouldn't promote legislating laws to prohibit them from doing so, but I don't want to see women punching each other in the face.
"I don't want to see women fighting in the octagon and stuff like that. That's just me."
His words haven't gone down well at all. Heavyweight legend Frank Mir took to social media to say, "Yes I saw what he said about women fighting. Don't tag him. Don't even say his name.
"He is irrelevant so don't give him a voice in our sport. Send him back to the NBA to make absurd comments about the other sport he couldn't hack it in as a competitor."
Jessica Eye, who lost to Joanne Calderwood last week, also replied saying, "Hey Stephen A Smith, I'm not mad at you for your comments. However I wouldn't expect you to be educated on female fighters/fighting. I've seen you fall asleep during the live fighting broadcast. Make sure your opinion is educated. Especially when you have a mic & able to influence others."
Featured Image Credit: PA/ESPNTopics: UFC News, MMA News, UFC, Stephen A Smith, MMA