Ian McCall and John Lineker eyeing year-end contender match-up

Two recently victorious flyweights may soon collide to determine the next challenger for the UFC’s 125-pound title.

A proposed match-up between top-10 contenders John Lineker and Ian McCall is currently in discussions by UFC matchmakers, according to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight, and both fighters are in favor of the idea.

Lineker (24-7) and McCall (13-4-1), ranked No. 7 and No. 3 respectively, both earned impressive wins within three days of each other in mid-July.

Lineker survived a back-and-forth battle of attrition to finish off a game Alptekin Ozkilic via third-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 45. The victory proved vital, not only because of Lineker’s ‘Fight of the Night’ performance, but also because the 24-year-old Brazilian proved for a second fight in a row that he has resolved his weight cutting issues of the past.

McCall, meanwhile, outpointed Brad Pickett three days later, taking the Englishman down and largely beating Pickett to the punch at UFC Fight Night 46.

Following his victory, “Uncle Creepy” revealed that his injured right hand would likely require surgery before he could return. And as it turns out, the 30-year-old will indeed be forced to go under the knife, however according to Helwani, McCall expects to return to full strength by the end of the year and regardless desires a pairing against Lineker.

Two recently victorious flyweights may soon collide to determine the next challenger for the UFC’s 125-pound title.

A proposed match-up between top-10 contenders John Lineker and Ian McCall is currently in discussions by UFC matchmakers, according to a report from MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight, and both fighters are in favor of the idea.

Lineker (24-7) and McCall (13-4-1), ranked No. 7 and No. 3 respectively, both earned impressive wins within three days of each other in mid-July.

Lineker survived a back-and-forth battle of attrition to finish off a game Alptekin Ozkilic via third-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 45. The victory proved vital, not only because of Lineker’s ‘Fight of the Night’ performance, but also because the 24-year-old Brazilian proved for a second fight in a row that he has resolved his weight cutting issues of the past.

McCall, meanwhile, outpointed Brad Pickett three days later, taking the Englishman down and largely beating Pickett to the punch at UFC Fight Night 46.

Following his victory, “Uncle Creepy” revealed that his injured right hand would likely require surgery before he could return. And as it turns out, the 30-year-old will indeed be forced to go under the knife, however according to Helwani, McCall expects to return to full strength by the end of the year and regardless desires a pairing against Lineker.