Ian McCall faces unknown malady, incomplete insurance, uncertain future
Ian McCall: “I got home, and I got a phone call that said, ‘Hey, man, we’re sorry. We can’t cover you.’”
The UFC flyweight Ian McCall has had four fights canceled in the last 10 months and has not fought since January of 2015. He is currently suffering from a medical condition that kept him out of the last two fights, and no firm diagnosis has been made. MDs in Ireland called it food poison, while US doctors wanted to remove his gall bladder, until they didn’t. His UFC health insurance only covers fight related conditions and out of competition accidents, so he can’t afford to find out what is going on. And given his condition, he can’t fight.
I have no idea what’s going on, and the UFC, they can’t help me, said McCall to Steven Marrocco for MMAjunkie.
My esophagus would do this thing – it would seize up. And then I would lose blood flow to brain, then pass out. Then I’d end up throwing up from anywhere from an hour to on and off for a couple of days. That was happening during the Scoggins training camp, and the Borg camp. I was in and out of the hospital.
They told me when I was leaving New York that I’d be covered; everything I needed would be covered. I’m like, ‘Cool, I can finally figure this out. I can finally get this done and do all the tests and make sure I’m not dying or some s***.’ But I got home, and I got a phone call that said, ‘Hey, man, we’re sorry. We can’t cover you.’
It is [the UFC’s] fault, but at the same time, it’s not. They’ve got an insurance plan that doesn’t help us.
If I do ever fight again, it will be a lot more money than $16,000 and $16,000. That’s just not worth my life and my health.