Ian McCall entered the UFC at 11-2 with much fan-fair. He would be at the top of the flyweight heap next to Demetrious Johnson and Joseph Benavidez and primed to take on the best of the best in order to bring home a UFC title. Unfortunately for Ian, he was mere seconds away from possibly finishing Mighty Mouse Johnson in their flyweight tournament quarterfinal matchup, when Ian decided to showboat for the crowd, raising his fist in the air and twirling it before bringing it down upon Demetrious’ skull. That fight would end up being a draw, and their subsequent fight, which was the first flyweight main event in UFC history, would go to eventual champ Mighty Mouse. 0-1-1 for Ian. Not a great 2012.
“Uncle Creepy” needs 2013 to be better, obviously, but he’s willing to work for whatever success may come his way. It will be tough too, McCall faces flyweight favorite to the throne Joseph Benavidez at UFC 156 in the beginning of February. Benavidez was 1 judge away from a split-decision win for the flyweight title over Johnson, so talk is already swirling around these two as if this is officially a number one contender fight.
McCall stopped by MMAJunkie radio to discuss his year in review, and his willingness to get back to the top.
“I’m no longer happy with my career at this point,” “I need a win. I came to the UFC claiming to be world champion. Now I’m 0-1-1, and I’m definitely not happy about it.”
“I’m going to prove to the world that I’m not just a show-off. I can actually win.”
“People keep saying, ‘Oh, you’re going to get a title shot after this.’ I mean, think about. Honestly, neither of us deserve it. I think Demetrious beat both of us. I would say maybe this one, if I win it convincingly, and then fight whoever else after this. Then maybe.
“Honestly, I’ll take a title shot at any point. I’m not going to turn that down. But I don’t mind working for it. I’m not some guy that’s just going to talk and talk and talk and say, ‘I deserve this,’ and ‘I deserve that.’ I deserve a fight. Once I win, we’ll talk about what I deserve and what I should be doing.”
“I think I’m going to win that word title back in 2013.”
