There are many who believe Ian McCall’s next fight against John Lineker at UFC Fight Night 58 next Saturday is the most meaningful contest on the card. Both fighters are in the Top 6 and it’s likely the winner will receive a title shot against champion Demetrious Johnson.
The problem is that the fight is quite clearly playing second-fiddle to the light heavyweight co-main event of Ovince St. Preux versus the untested Francimar Barroso.
It’s clear that McCall has a problem with the placement of his match on the card.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that, it’s not racism, it’s like small person-ism,” McCall said on yesterday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “No one really gives a s**t about us, and it’s true. I mean, maybe it’s Demetrious’ fault for not being the marketable guy, even though he’s an amazing athlete. Maybe it’s my fault for not beating him up when I should’ve. Maybe people really just don’t care about seeing small half-sized people fight. I don’t know what it is, and it’s frustrating, but at the same time, you just get over it, whatever, I go in there and do my job.”
While the subject of flyweights not being treated the same way that the other weight divisions are has been a topic that few have commented on in the past, McCall let all the secrets out on Tuesday.
“I mean, look at the numbers,” McCall said. “We don’t get paid the same, and I’m not hating on the UFC, the UFC treats me amazing. If you want to make more money, you fight more, you win more. But it’s just an overall consensus from everybody that we just kinda get swept under the rug and no one seems to really care. The women get a lot more exposure than we do, and let’s be honest, we’re twice the fighters they are.
“No one wants to hear what I have to say anyways,” McCall added. “But it’s true. It’s BS because they don’t push us like they should, and like you said, we are the two top guys going for the number-one contender fight. You’d think they would promote it more. Obviously Shogun is going to headline the card. Shogun is Shogun, everyone adores him, he’s huge, he’s an ex-champ. But it’s like we’re the stepchild no one cares about.”
Similar to the criticism that Chad Mendes hurled at Jose Aldo prior to their UFC 179 showdown, McCall says that the fault lies solely with Johnson’s refusal to promote his matches and his lack of being able to get anyone to care about when he fights or defends his belt.
“I don’t mean to pick on him, but it does (fall on him),” McCall said. “The guy has the personality of my coffee mug. Actually, my coffee mug has more personality because it’s a Joe Rogan coffee mug, so never mind. He doesn’t do his job as far as marketing.
I don’t want to cause too much trouble,” McCall added. “But it’s like, I don’t know, it sucks. It’s kinda depressing at some point because we’re never going to get the love that everybody else gets, and that translates to money, that translates to fame, that translates to everything that you strive for when you’re an athlete.”
