Former UFC flyweight Ian McCall is finally hanging up the gloves following a nine second knockout loss in his last fight.
“Uncle Creepy”, who took current flyweight kingpin Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson to a draw back in 2012, announced he has officially retired after 15 years of fighting:
“I’m retiring finally, I think people have been waiting for this for a long time. I’m done. This sport has taken so much from me — I shouldn’t say it’s taken, I’ve given this sport so much. And sure, I was the best in the world years ago and sure, people keep bringing up my ‘Al Bundy’ moment about beating Demetrious (Johnson), ‘Oh, you’re the guy, blah blah blah.’
“I’ve had a good run, it’s been fun, but at the same time, it’s over. After enough shenanigans that I’ve been through, I think physically I could still do it. Physically I go in the gym, I train hard. I beat people up, I have a good time, I love doing it, but with my luck and I hate to be the guy that’s like, ‘It always happens to me, the bad things always happen to me,’ well they kind of do in this sport. … I’m not gaining ground, I’m not getting closer to being the best in the world. The steps are getting farther and farther away and I’m not in this to be anything but the best in the world. And if I cannot compete at that level of the best in the world, then it’s just not worth it for me.”
“Uncle Creepy” has been plagued by injuries and surgeries throughout the last few years of his MMA career. In the past four years alone, McCall’s had nine fights canceled due to injuries sustained by his opponent or himself, so it’s fair to say he’s had a bit of bad luck.
McCall signed with Japanese promotion RIZIN FF after being released from his UFC contract in 2016, and has lost both of those two RIZIN bouts. Most recently, McCall suffered a nine second knockout loss to Kyoji Horiguchi:
“In Japan, after the fight I just went, you know what, I hate saying this but I can’t catch a break. (Joe) Rogan always talks a bunch of s**t about how people are always like ‘they can’t catch a break’, well I can’t catch a break. But that’s okay, I’m just going to change my situation so I can catch a break.”
The UFC veteran is already considering options outside of fighting, and still intends on getting his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu:
“I have a work ethic that’s second-to-none, so I’m just going to transfer over what I know work-ethic-wise from MMA to a different job, a different arena. I’ll always be part of MMA, I’ll always be at the gym, I still need to get my black belt in jiu-jitsu. Maybe consult for a fight promotion, I’m not sure what I’m really going to do, I’m talking to Combates, me and Campbell McLaren have been going back and forth.”
How will “Uncle Creepy” be remembered now that the legendary flyweight is retired?
