Ian McCall (fighter)

Background

McCall was born in Costa Mesa, California and has an older brother, Brad. McCall got into many "fights" growing up and in his youth, he practiced kung fu. He competed in wrestling for Dana Hills High School where he was a standout and then continued later at Cuesta College, before dropping out to a knee injury. He was also a part of a gang called the Lords of South County, where the gang would regularly start fights with random people, usually multiple people beating up one unsuspecting person. A few of them were charged for crimes, like former UFC fighter Rob Emerson, but Ian McCall escaped without charges. During one encounter, McCall attempted an uppercut against an unsuspecting person, but was countered with a right cross and knocked unconscious.

World Extreme Cagefighting

In his WEC tenure, McCall defeated Coty Wheeler and lost to Charlie Valencia in 2007. McCall returned in 2009, but lost to Dominick Cruz.

Tachi Palace Fights

In February, McCall signed a deal with the California-based promotion, Tachi Palace Fights. Ian's first fight was against Jussier Formiga, who at the time was ranked as the #1 Flyweight in the world. McCall upset Formiga with a unanimous decision victory.

On May 6, 2011, McCall then defeated previously unbeaten prospect Dustin Ortiz at Tachi Palace Fights 9, setting up an August 5, 2011 championship bout with the TPF Flyweight Champion Darrell Montague at TPF 10: Tachi Palace Fights 10. He won the title by submitting Montague in round 3 with a rear naked choke.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

McCall signed with the UFC in December 2011 to compete in a four-man Flyweight Tournament to determine the inaugural UFC Flyweight Champion. He faced Demetrious Johnson in the opening round of the tournament on March 3, 2012 at UFC on FX: Alves vs. Kampmann. Johnson was initially thought to have defeated McCall by majority decision, though was later revealed that a scoring error had taken place and a majority draw was the correct result. This fight was the first flyweight bout in UFC history.

A rematch with Johnson took place on June 8, 2012 at UFC on FX 3 to determine who would meet Joseph Benavidez in the finals of the flyweight tournament. McCall lost the bout via unanimous decision.

McCall was briefly linked to a bout with promotional newcomer John Moraga on August 4, 2012 at UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera. However, McCall was forced out of the bout with an issue with police and replaced by Ulysses Gomez.

McCall next faced Joseph Benavidez on February 2, 2013 at UFC 156. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

McCall faced Iliarde Santos on August 3, 2013 at UFC 163. He won the fight via unanimous decision, earning his first UFC win. The fight also earned him his second Fight of the Night bonus award.

McCall was slated to face Scott Jorgensen on December 14, 2013 at UFC on Fox 9, but was ruled out of the bout due to injury.

McCall was expected to face Brad Pickett on March 8 at UFC Fight Night 37 in London, England. However, on 13 February, it was announced that McCall had pulled out of the bout due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Neil Seery.

The rescheduled bout with Pickett took place on July 19, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 46. McCall won the bout by unanimous decision, having out struck Pickett across three rounds, while displaying strong takedowns and effective ground and pound.

McCall was expected to face John Lineker on November 8, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 56 as the co-main event. Although both fighters successfully made weight, it was announced just hours after the weigh in that McCall had been pulled from the event due to a blood infection. The bout was pulled from the event entirely.

The bout with Lineker eventually took place on January 31, 2015 at UFC 183. McCall lost the fight by unanimous decision.

A rematch with Dustin Ortiz was expected to take place on August 8, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 73. However, McCall pulled out of the fight in late July citing injury and was replaced by Willie Gates.

McCall was expected to face Justin Scoggins on July 30, 2016 at UFC 201. However, only 2 days before the event, Scoggins announced he was not going to make the contracted weight. The UFC pulled Scoggins and canceled the bout.

McCall was expected to face Ray Borg on September 10, 2016 at UFC 203. However, Borg pulled out of the fight on September 7 citing an illness. With no time to find a suitable replacement, McCall was removed from the card.

McCall was expected to face Neil Seery on November 19, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 99. However, McCall was pulled from the fight one day before it was scheduled to take place. It was rebooked for UFC 208, and this time Seery pulled out of what was expected to be his retirement bout two weeks before.

McCall was expected to face Jarred Brooks on February 11, 2017 at UFC 208. However, McCall was pulled from the fight the day it was scheduled to take place due to gastrointestinal illness.

Personal life

McCall has a young daughter.

In a 2012 interview with Ariel Helwani, McCall stated that during a hiatus after his last fight in the WEC he overdosed on a combination of oxycodone, GHB, Xanax and other tranquilizers. He awoke two days later in a hospital and later found out his breathing and heartbeat had both stopped. He was revived and recovered to full health within a matter of weeks.

Mixed martial arts