Cage fighter ‘Meatball Molly’ McCann is to open an Italian-inspired kitchen and deli in her native Liverpool next month. Polpetta – ‘meatball’ in Italian – will be in the Baltic Market street-food centre and serve classic Italian comfort food.

Molly has made her name as one of Britain’s top women mixed martial artists, competing in the sport’s top level – the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She gained her soubriquet – and a taste for the hospitality industry – while managing Britain’s second-busiest Subway branch to fund her early years as a fighter.

Her partner in Polpetta is her friend Joel Macarthy (pictured), the founder of the Macro Kitchen. The pair say they dreamt up the business over an evening drinking Guiness.

The said: “We’ve carefully created the menu at Polpetta to give our guests a true taste of Italy with big, bold flavours. We’re preparing to open at the Baltic Market just like we’re training for a fight… The training is over and we’re ready for the weigh-in and to smash it from Wednesday, July 5 onwards.”

Their signature dish will come as no surprise – the Meatball Sub, comprising beef and sausage meatballs, sugo, provolone, pecorino and basil.