UFC on FX 3 Friday, June 8, 2012 at 9 p.m. (ET) on FX BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida Demetrious Johnson (-200) Profile: Johnson (14-2-1) is hoping to fight for the UFC’s first flyweight title after losing to Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight championship last October 1. The 25-year-old from Washington fought to a draw with McCall on March 3 in the semifinals of the flyweight tournament designed to crown the first champion in the division. “Mighty Mouse” thought he had walked away with a victory against McCall, but a scoring mistake changed the decision, leading to this bout that will determine who faces Joseph Benavidez for the title. McCall’s only other previous loss came against Brad Pickett in his WEC debut at WEC 48 on April 24, 2010. He is 2-1-1 in the UFC with a notable win over Miguel Angel Torres at UFC 130. Ian McCall (+150) Profile: McCall (11-2-1) is 4-0-1 in his last five fights since his last loss, which also came against Cruz at WEC 38 three years ago. He was 1-2 in three WEC bouts overall, but all of them took place at bantamweight. The 27-year-old from Dana Point, California is a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and made his debut at flyweight in the Tachi Palace Fights promotion. “Uncle Creepy” went 3-0 in the TPF and won the flyweight championship over Darrell Montague by rear-naked choke submission last August 5. One of his biggest career wins came at TPF 8 against Jussier da Silva at TPF 8, who was previous ranked the top flyweight fighter in the world. McCall’s other career loss came against Charlie Valencia at UFC 31 via guillotine choke. UFC on FX 3 Opening Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Johnson a solid -200 favorite (bet $200 to win $100) against the underdog Ian McCall, who has seen the MMA odds move in his favor after opening at +150 (bet $100 to win $150). Bettors have moved the line down to -150 for Johnson and +120 for McCall even though the favorite remains the more experienced and dangerous fighter. Johnson has already had an opportunity to win the bantamweight title against Cruz and seems to be the logical choice to become the first UFC flyweight champ. The previous draw with McCall should have opened Johnson’s eyes and made him realize that he will need to be more active in the rematch to get the title shot against Benavidez. McCall has good credentials as well but has not fought the same top-level opponents.
