Who is Cory McKenna's mother? Explore powerful bond between this mother-daughter MMA duo

Cory McKenna and her mother, Wendy, share a powerful bond in MMA as they use the sport to also share quality time and support their respective development.

There have been many parents and children duos in the sport including Antonio and AJ McKee, Abdulmanap and Khabib Nurmagomedov, and Anderson and Gabriel Silva. In their respective situations, the parents had passed down their knowledge of the sport to their children and supported them on their journey.

Cory McKenna and her mother, on the other hand, formed their mother-daughter bond in the sport slightly differently. They began training at the same time as Wendy had been a karate practitioner before transitioning to MMA.

What makes the bond unique is that the Welsh natives were not only a mother-daughter duo, but they were also training partners and would corner each other for their respective bouts. Wendy's journey was a unique one as she was a refuse collector for Colchester Borough Council while at the same time, embarking on an MMA career.

Wendy began competing at the amateur level in 2014 and amassed a 3-3 record before turning pro in 2016. She was unable to carry over her success to the professional level as she went 1-2 in three pro bouts, but she did compete for a reputable promotion like Cage Warriors.

Tweet regarding Cory McKenna's UFC return [Image courtesy: @UFCEurope - X]

'Poppins', on the other hand, also began competing at the amateur level in 2014 and was a highly touted prospect coming into the sport. She had an unbeaten 7-0 record as an amateur before transitioning to the professional level in 2018.

Like her mother, Cory McKenna competed in Cage Warriors and boasted a 4-1 MMA record that included three finishes, which got her on the UFC's radar. The 24-year-old went on to earn a contract with the promotion after a unanimous decision win over Vanessa Demopoulos on the 'Contender Series' and has since gone 3-1 in the promotion.

'Poppins' is set to return to the octagon against Jaqueline Amorim at this Saturday's UFC Fight Night card at the Apex, which will be her first bout since Dec. 2022.