Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’ McCall has had to pull out of his UFC Fight Night 56 bout with John Lineker tonight in Brazil after picking up a viral infection.
Dana White had warned on Twitter last night that McCall might have to pull out of the event, and just a few hours later it was officially confirmed by the UFC.
McCall had appeared to be fine at yesterday’s weigh-ins, even indulging in some gamesmanship with his opponent by slowly savouring a few long gulps of a drink in front of him knowing that Lineker had just missed weight by a pound and would have to shed it before he too could rehydrate himself.
So, the originally planned co-main event has been scrapped and unfortunately there’s just no time to find a replacement to keep Lineker on the card, leaving the UFC with no choice but to go ahead with 10 fights instead of 11 and a fight between Warlley Alves and Alan Jouban now serving as the co-feature.
That’s unfortunate as not only was McCall Vs Lineker an exciting match-up, but also a meaningful one for the flyweight division with both men pushing in on title contention at 125lbs.
It also leaves the event very light on star power, with the main event pairing of Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua and Ovince St. Preux being the only real notable names left on the card.
