3 straight opponents can drop out on UFC Fight Night 99's Ian McCall and he won't care

BELFAST, Northern Ireland – It’s “silly” and “annoying” to Ian McCall that his comeback keeps getting delayed, but the UFC flyweight isn’t dreading the buildup to his next scheduled bout.

McCall (13-5-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) is set to fight Neil Seery (16-12 MMA, 3-3 UFC) on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 99 at SSE Arena Belfast in Belfast, Northern Ireland. But if Seery somehow for some reason doesn’t make it, he doesn’t care.

“There is no pit in my stomach,” McCall told MMAjunkie Radio. “If he makes weight, or if he shows up, then he shows up. If he doesn’t, then I get paid again.”

That’s what happened the previous two times “Uncle Creepy” showed up to fight, first at UFC 201 and then at UFC 203. A botched weight cut by Justin Scoggins and illness to Ray Borg scrapped those opportunities, but all it seemed to do is motivate him to get a little more crazy on fight week.

Nothing would be different this time, said McCall, whose return is set for the UFC Fight Pass-streamed prelims.

“Time to get rip-roaring drunk and paint this town red, I don’t know,” he said about the possibility of lightning striking thrice. “I was never supposed to come back and do this again, so this is just real funny to me. I’m just along for the ride. It’s kind of silly and it seems to be the way my life goes.”

McCall, the No 9 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings, suffered numerous injuries and contemplated retirement before getting healthy and rededicating himself to the sport. The way he sees it, he’s already on borrowed time, so why worry about what happens next?

“They’re annoying,” he said of the withdrawals. “Someone else falling a fight because they’re an idiot or they’re sick – in my case, one fell out because he was an idiot and one was sick – you can’t get really mad.

“It’s not going to strengthen you. It doesn’t make make me a better person. It just makes me a smart ass. I just get annoyed and say whatever, pay me my money.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 99, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM Ch. 93, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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