John Lineker fine waiting on Ian McCall to heal but expects a real fight in return

Brazilian flyweight John Lineker thinks a bout with fellow top-ranked contender Ian McCall sounds just about right, but he wants to make sure “Uncle Creepy” will show up to fight.

“Ian McCall asked me to wait until his hands are healed,” Lineker told MMAjunkie in his native Portuguese. “I’m fine with that, but I want to make sure I’m waiting for an actual fight. “Of course I will wait until Ian’s hands are healed, but is he just going to run circles around the cage? Everyone, even Ian, knows he’s just going to try and run from me. That’s not a fight. Let’s give the fans a fight.”

Lineker (24-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and McCall (13-4-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) each fought earlier this month, each picking up wins in a span of four days. Lineker scored an impressive third-round TKO over Alptekin Ozkilic at UFC Fight Night 45, picking up a “Fight of the Night” bonus in the process. Meanwhile, McCall earned a unanimous-decision win over perennial contender Brad Pickett in a bout that failed to deliver on the expected fireworks.

Still, McCall’s win was a thorough shutdown of a capable opponent, and he enjoys the No. 4 slot in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings. Lineker is a little further down the list at No. 9, but timing often plays an important role in UFC matchmaking.

At the post-UFC Fight Night 46 press conference, McCall was specifically asked if he’d be interested in the contest, and “Uncle Creepy” gave the booking his approval.

“Sign me up,” he said at Dublin’s O2 Arena. “I’ll fight anybody. He’s top-five or whatever, and just like tonight, he might hit hard, but he can’t touch me. So, we’ll see how that goes.

“I think if you look at the (Lineker vs. Ali) Bagautinov fight, he’s got pretty big holes in his wrestling and jiu-jitsu, so that’s a fight I’d love to take.”

McCall’s only request was that he be given some time to heal up a hand injury he suffered this past summer and then aggravated in his decision over Pickett. Lineker said he’s fine letting McCall dictate the timeframe, but he doesn’t want the contest to turn into a track meet.

Meet me in the center, Lineker says, and let’s see who is the better man.

“Let’s meet in the center of the octagon and bang it out until one of us falls,” Lineker said. “May the best man win.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: John Lineker)