Ian McCall just can't catch a break.
Bar a couple of high points, Ian McCall has had a truly abysmal time in MMA since fighting the great Demtrious Johnson to a majority draw in his UFC debut. The last four years, in particular, have been a tough time to be an 'Uncle Creepy' fan.
In 2013/2014, injuries saw him withdraw from bouts against Scott Jorgensen and Brad Pickett. The latter pull-out paved the way for Neill Seery to make his promotional debut in London. Following that fight, McCall was rebooked to take on 'One Punch' at the UFC's highly-anticipated return to Dublin. Their bout was dubbed the 'thinking man's main event' because of its potential title implications. Johnson being matched up against rank outsider Chris Cariaso meant that number one contender spot was wide open.
McCall soundly beat the Brit and was subsequently matched up against the heavy-handed John Lineker. Another pesky injury saw their first scheduled fight fall through. When it was booked again, the Brazilian won it handily but came in four pounds over the limit. This forced a move up to bantamweight, but the loss meant that McCall was out of the running for a third fight against Mighty Mouse for the title.
https://twitter.com/Grabaka_Hitman/status/946283570598961152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Fmma%2Fufc-veteran-trades-blows-with-opponent-at-weigh-ins-145514
Six scheduled fights falling through later, including two against Seery, McCall left the UFC. He signed up for Rizin FF's exciting bantamweight tournament which also featured former UFC star Kyoji Horiguchi.
He was matched up against Manel Kape for his tournament opener and something quite remarkable for McCall happened. He remained fit enough to fight, made weight as expected and there was no annoying last-minute pull-out from his opponent.
However, Murphy's Law was in full effect in Japan that night.
After a wild exchange kicked things off, McCall went for the takedown. Kape responded with a guillotine choke attempt and then, suddenly, the fight was over. The referee stopped the action and the doctor stepped in to call the fight off because of a cut McCall apparently suffered after colliding with a rope.
https://twitter.com/FancyCombat/status/946702581513977856
The result means McCall falls to 2-4 in his past six fights and he is still looking for his first win since that magic night in Dublin in 2014.
