UFC flyweight contender Ian McCall gets his wish to fight at Staples Center, which is not too far from where he lives. He’ll be facing promotional newcomer John Moraga on the preliminary card of UFC on FOX 4 on August 4th. The UFC confirmed the fight today:
Ian McCall looks to stay in the flyweight title hunt by taking on a tough opponent in John Moraga on August 4th at UFC on FOX in Los Angeles.
McCall was eliminated from the flyweight tournament at UFC on FX 3, losing a decision to Demetrious Johnson in the semifinals. Of course, the rematch only occurred after their first fight in Australia was accidentally ruled a decision win for Johnson, instead of a draw, which would’ve resulted in a sudden victory 4th round. “Uncle Creepy” dropped to flyweight from bantamweight in February 2011, and stamped his claim as a force to be reckoned with at 125 lbs by upsetting the highly regarded Jussier da Silva at Tachi Palace Fights 8. McCall won the Tachi Palace flyweight belt when he submitted Darrell Montague before the UFC signed him as part of their 4-man tournament to determine their first ever flyweight champion.
Little-known Moraga is a submission and wrestling specialist training out of the MMA Lab in Arizona, where current UFC Lightweight champion Ben Henderson trains. He’s 10-1 with a lone loss against TUF Season 14 champion John Dodson. Moraga wrestled collegiately at powerhouse Arizona State for four years, and turned pro in MMA two years later in 2009. He joins a growing list of Arizona State wrestlers going into the UFC, others include Ryan Bader, C.B. Dollaway, and Cain Velasquez. Now he gets his shot at the big time against one of the best flyweights in the world.
Ian “Uncle Creepy” McCall (11-3-1 MMA, 0-1-1 UFC)
L – Demetrious Johnson via decision (Unanimous) – UFC on FX 3
D – Demetrious Johnson via draw (majority) – UFC on FX 2
W – Darrell Montague via submission (RNC) – Tachi Palace Fights 10
John Moraga (10-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
W – Maurice Senters via decision (Unanimous) – Rage in the Cage 160
W – Matthew Garcia via submission (armbar) – Coalition of Combat
W – Freddie Lux via submission (guillotine choke) – Trilogy Fighting Championships
View the full card after the jump.
Main Card (FOX, 8 PM ET/5 PM PT)
Mauricio Rua vs. Brandon Vera (main event)
Lyoto Machida vs. Ryan Bader (co-main)
Travis Browne vs. Ben Rothwell
Joe Lauzon vs. Jamie VarnerPreliminary Card
Cole Miller vs. Nam Phan
Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado
Mike Swick vs. DaMarques Johnson
Josh Grispi vs. Rani Yahya
Philip De Fries vs. Oli Thompson
Manny Gamburyan vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Matt Mitrione vs. Rob Broughton
Ian McCall vs. John Moraga
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