Twitter beef: Ian McCall fires back at 'idiot,' 'cheater' Ali Bagautinov

Although Ian McCall and John Lineker jousted following the cancellation of their recent bout, suspended UFC flyweight Ali Bagautinov has inserted himself into the conversation.

Quick recap: Lineker (24-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and McCall (13-4-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) were slated to co-headline this past Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 56 event in Brazil. However, after Lineker needed a second attempt to make weight and narrowly avoided missing weight for the fourth time in his UFC career, McCall ultimately was forced out of the event with a infection, and the bout was scrapped.

Soon after the disappointing cancellation, Lineker spoke to MMAjunkie. While he felt for his opponent, he said the outcome was the same.

“Obviously I feel bad for Ian,” Lineker said through an interpreter. “I wouldn’t expect anyone to fight sick, so I hope he gets well very soon. But honestly, he was going to the hospital one way or the other. He just ended up there a day early.”

Despite the insult, the fighters appeared to put it behind them, and McCall even posted the following photo on Sunday (via Twitter):

Soon after, though, recent title challenger Bagautinov (13-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) inserted himself into the conversation (via Twitter) and insulted both fighters:

The Dagestani-born Russian is currently serving a one-year suspension after failing a drug test due to erythropoietin (EPO) following his June title loss to reigning champion Demetrious Johnson. The irony of Bagautinov criticizing other fighters wasn’t lost on McCall, who called the brash fighter an “idiot” and “cheater” (via Twitter):

UFC officials haven’t formally decided if McCall, who’s ranked No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA flyweight rankings, and No. 9 Lineker will be rebooked for a later date. But when No. 6 Bagautinov, meanwhile, isn’t eligible to return until June 2015.

For more on UFC Fight Night 56, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.