Ian McCall welcomes No. 1 UFC flyweight contenders fight opposite John Lineker

DUBLIN – Many MMA fans wondered if the UFC hadn’t jumped the gun by booking flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson opposite Chris Cariaso rather than waiting for the outcome of two flyweight bouts this week.

After all, it seemed wise to see what happened with Wednesday’s meeting between John Lineker and Alptekin Ozkilic and Saturday’s clash between Ian McCall and Brad Pickett. But with both fights now in the record books, there’s no reason a No. 1 contender fight can’t be made.

Count McCall (13-4-1 MMA, 2-2-1 UFC) in for a meeting with Lineker (24-7 MMA, 5-2 UFC), for one. Following UFC Fight 46, where he soundly outpointed Pickett, “Uncle Creepy” called out champ Johnson, but later welcomed a bout with Lineker.

“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.”

UFC President Dana White then chimed in with his reaction: “We’ll see.”

It’s not an uncommon response from the UFC executive when future matchups are posed during the press conference. But then again, White and co. only recently took care of booking Johnson’s next opponent, which many expected to be John Dodson before a knee injury shelved him.

Recently asked by MMAjunkie whether he would consider Lineker, White brushed off the idea of switching gears. So that leaves the question of who’s next in line unanswered.

McCall will need to recuperate from a hand injury he suffered this past summer and then aggravated in his decision over Pickett, so he might be unable to fight in the near future.

Meanwhile, following a decision over Ali Bagautinov at this past month’s UFC 174, Johnson looks more dominant than ever. “Mighty Mouse” now has defended his title four times.

While hedging on a rematch with Dodson, the champ previously mentioned Zach Makovsky as a potential contender. After all, the former Bellator champ has won two straight in the division. And he provides a fresh challenge, as McCall dropped a bout to Johnson in 2012.

Lineker is also a fresh challenge, but he also dropped a No. 1 contender bout against Bagautinov. Still, the heavy-handed Brazilian brings almost guaranteed excitement as a technical slugger with knockout power.

And yet, Johnson will meet with Cariaso, who has won three straight against unheralded competition and lost back-to-back fights against ranked foes. The two meet next month in a co-headliner at UFC 177.

So for now, it looks like McCall and Lineker are in for a wait. But at least one of them is game for a flyweight runoff.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 46, check out the UFC Events section of the site.