Tonight at UFC 156 and under the radar is a fight between Ian McCall and Joseph Benavidez that for all intents and purposes, more than likely prove to be for a shot at the flyweight title. McCall himself almost had the eventual champ, Mighty Mouse Johnson, down and beaten in their first meeting in the flyweight tournament quarterfinal. Had McCall not boasted to the crowd in-between the raining of strikes, well…
The rematch between Johnson and McCall obviously went Johnson’s way, so now at 0-0-1 and against one of the best in the world in Joseph Benavidez, a man who Mighty Mouse only eeked by in a split-decision, McCall’s back is up against the wall. But like a warrior, facing certain death is bringing out the most in him.
“Obviously, the fans are the ones that pay my bills. They’re the reason I have a job and get paid the amount of money that I do. I’m here to put my life on the line. That is not my favorite way of people thinking, and people shouldn’t fight just enough to get a win, but then you will always have the George St-Pierres and the Demetrious Johnsons.
“I read a lot of Japanese samurai literature, so my theory is engage in combat, fully determined to die, and you will be alive. It’s a balancing act. You have to be technical, you have to be exciting, but you have to win your fights. There is a happy medium. You can do it all. I don’t fight to play it safe. “I fight to hurt my opponent as badly as possible without going to jail.”
