MMA Odds and Ends for Tuesday: Ian McCall now faces newcomer Jarred Brooks at UFC 208, Aisling Daley retires

Ian McCall now faces newcomer Jarred Brooks at UFC 208 After Neil Seery announced this past weekend that he would need to withdraw from UFC 208 due to personal issues, the UFC has signed Jarred Brooks to face off with Ian McCall at UFC 208.  UFC officials made the announcement on Monday. Brooks (12-0) heads into this matchup after winning five straight fights by stoppage. The 23-year-old, who fights out of Detroit, Michigan, will be competing for the first time this year. McCall (13-5-1) has had the worst luck on the UFC roster, as this is the fourth change in one of his scheduled matchups. The 32-year-old will enter the Octagon for the first time since January 2015 and will be looking for his first win since 2014. UFC 208 takes place February 11th at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. UFC strawweight Aisling Daly retires  On Monday, UFC strawweight Aisling Daly announced her retirement from MMA on her Instagram page. This was after a routine brian scan showed the remnants of a small hemorrhage that had taken place previously.

I will be officially retiring from the sport of MMA. This past year a routine brain scan showed up evidence of an abnormality, the remnant of a small haemorrhage that had taken place at some point in the months previous. It would be unlikely I would be medically cleared to compete again, even in the event I could find a doctor who would clear me it would be very unwise for me to continue to compete with the risks involved. My career has ended prematurely but I’m very grateful for my long list of achievements, I am and will always be ‘Ais the first’ for so many things, my legacy set in stone in the history of Irish mixed martial arts. I am the countries first ever world champion, the first and only female to ever do it. I have and always will give back to the sport which has given me so much. I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart the fans who have supported me tirelessly through various parts of the journey. Without this support there is no sport of MMA as we know it. I would like to thank my good friends and close team mates, there is no substitute for the genuine loyalty built between people over years of blood, sweat and tears. I am truly most grateful for my wonderful family, who were there to pick up the pieces throughout my entire career and especially now when my dream fell apart. This would have been intolerable without their help, emotionally and financially. They say you can’t choose family but I would want no other. Now starts the next chapter of my life. I’m very fortunate to have grown up within such an outstanding organisation as SBG. I am equipped with the skills to be an exceptional coach and member of the martial arts community and I look forward to seeing what challenges lie ahead for me. “New Beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.”― Lao Tzu #TheQueenofIrishMMA #AisTheFirst #SBG #happy #proud #grateful #MMA #UFC #retirement #worldchampion #blackbelt #legend

A photo posted by Aisling Daly (@aisydaly) on Jan 30, 2017 at 10:57am PST

Daly (16-6) last saw action when she earned a unanimous decision victory over Ericka Almeida back in October 2015. The 29-year-old, who competed for Bellator and was a contestant on Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter, went 2-1 inside the Octagon. The SBG Ireland product plans to get into MMA coaching following her announcement.