A pivotal bout in the UFC’s flyweight division at UFC Fight Night 56 is off after perennial 125-pound contender Ian McCall became ill after the weigh-ins in Uberlandia, Brazil.
Uncle Creepy was set to compete in a grudge match with John Lineker, but UFC president Dana White tweeted Friday night that the bout may not happen, and Thomas Gerbasi of UFC.com has since confirmed the co-main event of the evening has been cancelled.
“With flyweight contender Ian McCall taking ill after Friday’s weigh-ins in Uberlandia, Brazil, he has been forced to withdraw from his UFC Fight Night co-main event against John Lineker,” Gerbasi writes.
The weigh-in for the bout already had the fight community buzzing, as Lineker, a notoriously heavy flyweight, needed two tries on the scale to hit 126 pounds.
In seven UFC contests, Lineker has missed weight three times. Still, he remains relevant in the weight class by winning five of his past six fights.
After starting his UFC career with a paltry 0-2-1 record between March 2012 and February 2013, McCall has bounced back with decisive victories over Iliarde Santos and Brad Pickett.
According to the UFC’s official rankings, McCall is the No. 3 flyweight in the world, while Lineker cracked the rankings at No. 6.
Lineker will not receive a new opponent at the last minute, and for the moment, it is unclear if he will receive his show money for the event.
Leading up to the matchup, McCall began angling for a third bout with flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson, saying he had the tools to defeat Mighty Mouse, who is the reason 125-pounders don’t get more respect, per Guilherme Cruz of MMA Fighting.
After his second matchup with Johnson at UFC on FX 3 in June 2012, McCall said he weighed a whopping 150.5 pounds just hours after weigh-ins, per MixedMartialArts.com, so it is feasible a bad weight cut did him in on this occasion.
UFC Fight Night 56 moves forward with 10 matchups, headlined by a light heavyweight scrap between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Ovince St. Preux.
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
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