Ian McCall was slated to fight Dustin Ortiz at UFC Fight Night 73 but unfortunately had to pull out due to injury. McCall (13-5) caught up with MMAOddsBreaker on Episode 115 of The Parting Shot Podcast this Sunday to talk about his latest injury. Injury that forced him out of Dustin Ortiz fight at UFC Fight Night 73 “I have a tear in my shoulder, in my labrum and a tear in my bicep. I mean I’m literally at the doctors now talking about it. It is what it is, we train hard and I’m fragile apparently. I have to pull out of a lot of s**t. It sucks, but when you train as hard as I do and you’ve been doing this as long as I do, its part of the game.” Career Plagued with Injuries “My UFC career has been just been plagued with injuries and it’s frustrating. This is my main source of income, I have other things I do but this is my main source. I have a little girl to feed, that I feed on my own and it sucks. But on another note, this is my passion; this is what I love to do. I’m 31 years old, I’m not getting younger I’ve already been in fights for 13 years. To watch my body fail me time and time again it’s hard. It’s one of those things it makes you question a lot. I’m such a healthy person, my household is like incredibly healthy, and you know my daughter has to have a really strict diet. I’ve had my hip, groin tear, which is bad. I’m sure I’ll have to get a hip replacement eventually. I’ve had three hand surgeries. I got into a car accident not too long ago and messed up my shoulder. It’s always something, but it’s better than having a real job.” Being Positive and Optimistic “Most of my life I’ve been a pessimist to be honest. I look at it in different ways, it could be worse, I could be dead. I could have lost complete use of my arm or whatever. There are a lot of things I look at. I have to keep a positive attitude because I have to be a good role model for team-mates and my child. It’s one of those things I’m not going to sit around and sulk. That is what it is, I’ll be al right.” Thoughts on Demetrious Johnson vs. John Dodson II at UFC 191 “Demetrious is ever evolving and I think that now he’s found a little more power in his punches. His overall game is always changing and getting better. I think he’ll beat Dodson, is he going to finish [him]? I don’t know. I think this will be one guy he’ll have a hard time finishing. He finished Horoguchi with one second left, and as much as I want to beat his face in, he’s incredible. He is the exact guy you want as champion when it comes to performance. I’m going to go with him on this one for sure.” Loss to John Lineker “Oh man that was huge. I got too emotional; I showed the first round that I could definitely beat him. People were like ‘Oh he’s a bantamweight’ I don’t care; the guy still isn’t very good I should have beat him. I think I showed that you’re not going to knock me out even though you’re a big puncher. My face is going to split open before you knock me out and that’s exactly what happened. With me it’s outside things, they always distract me, girl problems or what have you. I just kind of fell apart after that first round. I’m smart enough to know that I was going to lose that fight sitting backstage. Anthony Kiedis and Dane White came around and said hi and I’m just kind of like, I’m screwed. That was a mental thing, that’s always been my biggest downfall. I have a new mental coach, he’s my mind Sherpa. He’s overall made me a better person. As far as my optimism goes, he’s a big part of it.” Feeling Overlooked in Flyweight Division “I wouldn’t say overlooked, there’s other people to talk about. I blew it with John; I screwed up in that fight. So maybe I don’t deserve to be talked about it. Let’s say this injury is 6 months, they’ll talk about me after that, that’s fine. There are other people that deserve it. It does matter how good I can be or how good I am, it’s not my turn. DJ needs people to fight, the division needs people to move and shake and make a big stink. I don’t mind it, it’s cool, whatever.” Raising a daughter as a single father “Yeah it’s not easy; realistically I don’t know anything about women. I know how to get one in bed that’s about it. I sit there sometimes and stare at her like ‘what’s going on?’ don’t cut your hair, don’t put soap in places, like I don’t know. Realistically I have a lot help, I live with my dad. My dad got a divorce, he said move in, and I’ll help you out. My dad’s retired so he kind of plays mommy on a daily basis. My step mom is still around; my daughter’s grandma is around so I do have a lot of help. So I’m not going to say I’m doing this alone, because I’m not. It takes a village to raise a baby and I got a village of people around me. Even if there are days where I have to take her to the gym, there is always someone there. She’s pretty damn independent I can take her to the beach; she can run around and swim on her own. She’s going to be alright.” UFC Reebok Uniforms “I used to work for a fashion design firm; the only fighters I hang out with are either people I’m forced to hang out with or my friends. I hang out with artists, fashion designers and musicians and stuff. They’re hideous, like Jose Aldo said we look like f***kin Power Rangers. The gear is really comfortable; obviously Reebok makes a great product. I don’t know who made the design, no matter what generation we’re in 80’s 90’s, that doesn’t fit anything, it’s just ugly. But maybe I’m wrong; maybe I’m looking for something a little cooler looking. Its performance based gear; that’s all that matters. It’s an evolution of the sport. We needed it to excel, sure we’re not going to get paid that much money but it is what it is. If you have a problem then quit, these are the numbers we have to deal with. Now if you’re smart and you can market yourself and advertise yourself in ways like I have. I have outside sponsors; I have Layrite, which is like a hair and mustache product. I’ve got a lot of clothing and lifestyle companies. I get a lot of exposure from stuff like that. People need to learn t to step outside the box, make money for themselves and have a smart agent.” Thoughts on Reebok Deal “Yeah that would have been nice, but at the same time they run a business. They run a multi-billion dollar corporation that is a premiere sports league. If you see the machine that is the UFC, from the inside it’s incredible. The people are great; the business layout is just amazing. I would never say anything bad about how it’s all run, it’s beautiful if you appreciate business. The thing is they didn’t have to consult with us because it’s their business. We are a commodity; as much as I want to say cool we should be making money like baseball, football and basketball. Because we should we’re actually putting our lives on the line. But we’re not and I don’t want to quote Urijah Faber, he said ‘I never got into this for the money’ honestly I get it, I’m a businessman.” Outside sponsors “Financially I’m always going to be ok. I’m always going to find ways [to make money]. I own part of a social media company, I own a show that I host called Direct Endorsement, and it’s a big charity thing. I have other stuff that’s going to make me money, so I’m going to be ok. I do feel for guys that don’t have much else or guys that aren’t that smart. But that’s their own fault, figure it out it’s not rocket science.” Being on Joe Rogan’s “Fight Companion” show “Yeah I was talking to Joe not too long ago. I have a growing friendship with Joe for a long time, we always talk about it but it’s a little bit of a drive from my house with all the traffic. I’ll be up there soon, I have to do some stuff in the area so I’ll be on there soon.” You follow Ian on Twitter @Unclecreepymma and his sponsor DirectEndorcements.com. You can listen to the full audio version of this interview on Episode 115 of The Parting Shot Podcast this Sunday.
Ian McCall talks latest injury which forced him off UFC Fight Night 73
