Flyweight contender Ian McCall cuts ties with UFC, shares his pricetag heading into free agency
Ian McCall, who has long stood out as one of the flyweight division’s premier players, is no longer a member of the UFC roster.
On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, the flyweight star revealed that he had been released from his contract, and that he’s now eyeing big-money fights overseas – particularly in the ring of Japan’s Rizin Fighting Federation. Wherever he ends up, however, he’s after paydays of $100,000 or more (though he’s willing to accept a $50,000 to show, $50,000 to win deal).
“I’m a free agent now,” McCall said. “If I’m gonna fight, I want to fight for at least $100,000 — 50 and 50 is fine. I’m gonna take this, go to a different market and see if it works.”
While McCall is now setting his sights on fights with international promotions, he also admitted that he’d ideally like to rack up a few wins outside the UFC, then make a return to the promotion for bigger paydays down the road. If this plan doesn’t work, he’s happy to hang up the gloves and focus on his other ventures.
“I just figure I’ll go out, cause some trouble, travel the world, make some money and see if I can create some want,” McCall explained. “Some need from the fans, like ‘You need to re-sign this guy, you need to pay him the money that he wants’ and then we’ll go from there. Like I said, if nobody wants to pay me, then I’ll go back to my job.”
“It’s just a business move,” McCall added. “I’m just trying to go out there and trying to cause a little ruckus. I don’t know, we’ll see how it works. This could fail completely, I’m not stupid. I’ve been part of a lot of business ventures that have failed. Life is worth risking, in my opinion.”
Where do you think Ian McCall will end up now that he’s no longer a UFC fighter?
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 10/10/2017.
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Ian McCall
