Ian Gregory McCall (born July 5, 1984) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

and

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

divisions of several prominent MMA promotions, including

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin Fighting Federation (stylised in all caps and also known as Rizin FF) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. ...

and

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

. He is also a former TPF Flyweight Champion. In between his fights in January 2015 and December 2017, he had been booked for six consecutive cancelled fights, four of which were cancelled during the week of.

Background

McCall was born in

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

and has an older brother, Bradley McCall. McCall got into many "fights" growing up and in his youth, he practiced

kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

. He competed in

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

for

Dana Hills High School Dana Hills High School is a high school in Dana Point, California opened in 1973. The school's enrollment of roughly 2,000 students is drawn from the nearby communities of Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, Capistrano Beach, and San Juan Capistrano. ...

where he was a standout and then continued later at

Cuesta College Cuesta College is a Public college, public community college in San Luis Obispo County, California. History The first community college in the San Luis Obispo area was founded in 1916 as a San Luis Obispo High School division. It lasted until 1 ...

, before dropping out to a knee injury. He was also known to fight kids at the town center. Often striking kids for no reason besides being a bully. 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 Robert Michael Emerson (born July 30, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Emerson is also a veteran of Bellator MMA, the UFC, Pancrase, and was a cast member of '' The Ultimate Fighter 5'' ...

, 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. During another scuffle, McCall actually punched a lady in the face but he claims he thought she was a man.

Mixed martial arts career

World Extreme Cagefighting

In his WEC tenure, McCall defeated Coty Wheeler and lost to

Charlie Valencia Carlos Enrique "Charlie" Valencia (born October 31, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist. He has fought for the World Extreme Cagefighting, WEC and Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC in their Bantamweight divisions, and is the former List ...

in 2007. McCall returned in 2009, but lost to

Dominick Cruz Dominick Rogelio Cruz (born March 9, 1985) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, sports analyst and color commentator. He competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the first ...

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 Jussier Formiga (born April 14, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Formiga most notably competed in the UFC and is the former Shooto South America 123-pound cham ...

, who at the time was ranked as the #1

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 The rear naked choke (RNC), also known as hadaka jime (裸絞) in Judo and "lion killer choke (Mata Leão)" in BJJ, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word ''naked'' in this context suggests that, unlike other stra ...

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 Demetrious Khrisna Johnson (born August 13, 1986) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the inaugural and former UFC Flyweight C ...

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 John Anthony Moraga (born March 20, 1984) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes as a flyweight and featherweight in MMA and boxing, respectively. He is best known for his lengthy career in the Ultimate Fighting ...

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 Iliarde Santos (born September 25, 1980) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the UFC, Titan FC, and Jungle Fight. Mixed martial arts care ...

on August 3, 2013, at

UFC 163 ''UFC 163: Aldo vs. Korean Zombie'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 3, 2013, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Background The main event was expected to feature current UFC Featherweight Champion, José Aldo taking on fut ...

. 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 Scott Roger Jorgensen (born September 17, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Jorgensen has formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, and ShoXC. Background ...

on December 14, 2013, at

UFC on Fox 9 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Benavidez 2'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 9'') was a mixed martial arts event held on December 14, 2013, at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. It was the UFC's third visit to the venue, after UFC 65 and UFC ...

, but was ruled out of the bout due to injury. McCall was expected to face

Brad Pickett Brad Pickett (born 24 September 1978) is an English former mixed martial artist. He is a former Cage Rage British Featherweight Champion. He competed as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship; Dana White stated that Pickett was ...

on March 8 at

UFC Fight Night 37 ''UFC Fight Night: Gustafsson vs. Manuwa'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 37'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 8, 2014, at The O2 Arena in London, England. The event was shown live in the UK on Channel 5 and BT Sport and in the ...

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 Neil Seery (born 30 August 1979) is a retired Irish professional mixed martial artist, who most recently competed in the Flyweight (MMA), flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC. Beginning his career in 2005, Seery also co ...

. The rescheduled bout with Pickett took place on July 19, 2014, at

UFC Fight Night 46 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

. 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 John Lineker (born June 12, 1990) is a Brazilian Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist currently signed to ONE Championship, where he is the former ONE Bantamweight MMA World Champion. Lineker formerly competed in the bantamweight divisio ...

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 ''UFC 183: Silva vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 31, 2015, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was headlined by a middleweight bout between former UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silv ...

. 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 ''UFC 201: Lawler vs. Woodley'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 30, 2016, at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Background This was the third event that the organization has hosted in Atl ...

. 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 Ray Borg (born August 4, 1993), is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor until 2023, Borg is best known for his 12–fight tenure in the Ultima ...

on September 10, 2016, at

UFC 203 ''UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on September 10, 2016, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Background This was the first UFC event in Cleveland. The ev ...

. 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

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 ''UFC 208: Holm vs. de Randamie'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on February 11, 2017, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Background The event was originally scheduled to take p ...

, 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 Jarred Brooks Ford (born May 2, 1993) known professionally as Jarred Brooks, is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in ONE Championship, where he is the former ONE Strawweight World Champion and former Interim ONE ...

on February 11, 2017, at

. However, McCall was pulled from the fight the day it was scheduled to take place due to gastrointestinal illness. McCall was granted his requested release from the UFC in October 2017.

Rizin Fighting Federation

On October 16, 2017, it was announced that McCall had signed with Japan's Rizin Fighting Federation. McCall's debut was against Manel Kape, as part of Rizin's 2017 Bantamweight World Grand Prix. He lost the fight in the first round by doctor's stoppage due to a cut from the ring ropes. For his second fight for the promotion, McCall faced fellow UFC veteran

Kyoji Horiguchi is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He most recently competed in Rizin FF in the Flyweight division, where he was a former RIZIN Flyweight Champion and former RIZIN Bantamweight Championsh ...

in the main event at Rizin 10 on May 6, 2018. He lost the fight via knockout just nine seconds into the first round.

Retirement

On May 21, 2018, McCall announced his retirement during The MMA Hour podcast.

Professional grappling career

McCall competed against Mike John at Subversiv 10 on April 13, 2024. He lost the match by submission.

Personal life

McCall has a young daughter and a stepson. 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 Oxycodone, sold under the brand name Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended-release form) among others, is a semi-synthetic opioid used medically for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and is a commonly ...

, GHB,

Xanax Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of moderate duration within the triazolobenzodiazepine group of chemicals called benzodiazepines. Alprazolam is most commonly prescribed in the ...

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.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Fight of the Night (Two times) vs.

and

**First Flyweight to headline a UFC Event with

* Tachi Palace Fights ** TPF Flyweight Championship (One time) *

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

** 2011 Comeback Fighter of the Year **2011 All-Violence First Team

Mixed martial arts record

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Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 252 ...

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WEC 38 ''WEC 38: Varner vs. Cerrone'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on January 25, 2009. It aired live on the Versus Network. In the main event, WEC Lightweight Champion Jamie Varner defended his title against undef ...

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References

External links

*
Official UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCall, Ian 1984 births Flyweight mixed martial artists Living people American male mixed martial artists American wushu practitioners Sportspeople from Costa Mesa, California Mixed martial artists from California Mixed martial artists utilizing wushu Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Dana Hills High School alumni

Background

Mixed martial arts career

World Extreme Cagefighting

Tachi Palace Fights

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rizin Fighting Federation

Retirement

Professional grappling career

Personal life

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links