Uncle Creepy granted release by UFC
Ian McCall: “I either get 50 and 50, or you can let me go and I can look for it somewhere else or I can retire. It’s as simple as that.”
In a little over a year, UFC flyweight Ian ‘Uncle Creepy’ McCall had four fights canceled; he has not fought since January of 2015. He appeared recently on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour and revealed that the UFC had granted him a release from his contract.
In other major changes, McCall released his agent Jason House and is self-managing. He also left longtime trainer Colin Oyama and is now working with Jason Parillo and Darryl Christian at RVCA in Orange County. A central issue is money; McCall doesn’t want to work for 16/16, which his UFC contract calls for.
“My life has spiraled out of control for five years, realistically,” said McCall, as transcribed by Greg Rosenstein for ESPN. “I’ve had injury, after injury, after injury, after personal problem, after personal problem, after personal problem. Sickness and injury. It’s just been s*** for me.”
“I’m either going to get paid $100,000 to fight or I’m not fighting ever again. If it’s 50 and 50, I’m fine with that. So I either get 50 and 50, or you can let me go and I can look for it somewhere else or I can retire. It’s as simple as that. But me fighting for $16,000 and $16,000 when I’m a former world champion is pretty gross.”
“I can’t risk my health and life for less than $100,000. It’s not worth it. I put a number on that. I think everyone thinks I’m crazy, but we’re fighting for a living. I know what these companies are making. $100,000 is nothing, and I’ve been a company man since day one.”
He said he’d like to fight for Japan’s RIZIN, and also mentioned Chechen despot Ramzan Kadyrov’s Akhmat Fight Club. Kadyrov has long come under international criticism over allegations of human rights abuses; the most recent accusations are for torturing and murdering gay men.
“People say, ‘You don’t care that it’s blood money?’ I don’t give a flying f*** that it’s blood money,” said McCall. “You can pay me in blood diamonds. I get into a cage and fistfight for money. I don’t care. I don’t live there.
“Of course what he’s doing is wrong. I don’t agree with it and would say it to his face, but it’s none of my business. My business is to go over there and fistfight. That’s it. Sure, war is bad and guys like that do evil s***. But I don’t care.”
Ideally, McCall would fight outside the UFC, and end up the league with a higher salary.
I just figure I’ll go out, cause some trouble, travel the world, make some money and see if I can create some want, said McCall, as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting. 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.
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.