Leah McCourt explains why she is now at her most dangerous ahead of Bellator 267

The Belfast featherweight is on a five-fight winning streak and will look to extend that record against Jessica Borga at the SSE Arena, Wembley, on Friday night.

Aptly nicknamed ‘The Curse’ – a moniker passed on by UFC fighter Molly McCann, the 29-year-old has maintained her sparkling form despite the threat of major setbacks, navigating her way through shoulder surgery, long Covid and fight week restrictions to record a career-best win over Janay Harding in Connecticut in May.

‘This is the best I’ve felt in a long time,’ McCourt told Metro.co.uk.

‘Coming into that last fight, I had a lot of injuries, it was madness. Even getting out to America there was drama. This time I have just been able to focus on my training and focus on the performance and not worry about everything else.

‘I am 100 per cent in the best physical condition of my life. The surgery and Covid, it affected my quite badly and I was still recovering when my last fight came around.

‘I popped a joint in camp, I damaged my knee, my leg wouldn’t even straighten out two weeks before the fight. Even in fight week, my corner team dropped out. So much went on. My biggest fight is actually getting to fight night, never mind fighting on the night. It has been nice to just worry about training.’

On the night last time out, the problems heading in looked like they were taking their toll with Harding scoring well with sharp punches that left McCourt in trouble.

Her response turned the fight on its head, landing a up-kick flush on her opponent’s chin before locking on a triangle chokehold that secured the submission win.  

‘I know [winning a world title] is inevitable,’ McCourt said. ‘I think it is my destiny to be a world champion. But my focus is on every single fight, improving and developing and showing more of what I can do on the big stage. I need to level up and bring the best out of every fight.

‘Everybody above me in the rankings, you look at how many fights they have had compared to me and they are a lot more experienced. They have been around a lot longer. There are a lot of tough fights in that top five and Cyborg is the most dominant, the most powerful, the most experienced. She is the biggest challenge.

To get there, that is my goal. Climb the rankings, keep improving and show what I can do.’

Watch Bellator 267: Lima vs. MVP 2 live on BBC iPlayer from 5:30pm BST on Friday, October 1

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