Ian McCall is a pretty outspoken guy.
On Tuesday the UFC flyweight contender was in rare form, speaking his mind on the perceived unpopularity of his own division and its champion, Demetrious Johnson, who he intimated was uninspiring to fans from a promotions perspective.
“No one cares about us,” McCall told broadcaster Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour when asked why he thought his upcoming bout with John Lineker was not being billed as the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 56. “It’s not racism, it’s like small-person-ism. No one really gives a [expletive] about us, and it’s true.”
But McCall wasn’t done, speculating that Johnson might be at least partially to blame for the UFC’s smallest men’s division failing, to date, to capture the public’s imagination.
“Maybe it’s Demetrious’ fault for not being, you know, the guy, marketable, even though he’s an amazing athlete,” McCall said. “Maybe it’s my fault for not beating him up when I should have. Maybe people just don’t care about watching small people fight. I don’t know what it is.”
From a numbers standpoint, McCall has a point. UFC 174, headlined by Johnson’s title defense against Ali Bagautinov, notched only an estimated 115,000 buys, according to MMA business site MMA Payout. That’s good for the lowest pay-per-view buy total of 2014. The year’s second-, third- and fourth-lowest—UFC 177, UFC 173 and UFC 169, respectively—all were headlined by bantamweights, the UFC’s second-lightest men’s division.
The TV ratings paint a similar picture. UFC on Fox 8, topped by Johnson’s successful defense against John Moraga, is one of the lowest-rated UFC Fox broadcasts in the history of the series.
As a caveat, TV ratings are generally trending downward for UFC on Fox broadcasts as are pay-per-view numbers. And though no one will accuse Johnson of being an electrifying microphone presence, he more than makes up for any such deficiency in the cage. The UFC’s first and only flyweight champ is 21-2-1 as a pro and has now defended the strap five consecutive times.
McCall faces Lineker on November 8 in Brazil. With McCall on a two-fight win streak and Lineker a winner in five of his last six, it is probably fair to wonder whether that winner will receive the next title shot with Johnson, particularly in a division as relatively thin as flyweight.
The billed co-main event of UFC Fight Night 56 is a light heavyweight bout between Ovince St-Preux and Francimar Barroso, neither of whom appear to be fighting for contender status or even relevance in the elite end of their division.
“@Dylz27: Yeah @Unclecreepymma you just sound like another shallow American @johnlineker” yup spoiled ignorant and in charge
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) October 28, 2014
McCall and Johnson have fought twice before, fighting to a draw the first time with Johnson taking the rematch by unanimous decision. “Uncle Creepy” is the last man to leave the cage with Johnson without carrying a brand new “L” on his record.
But it was little comfort to McCall on Tuesday, as he expressed his frustration with the lack of public support for the 125-pounders.
“It’s the consensus from everybody,” he said. “We get swept under the rug.”
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