Ian McCall believes the ‘real’ flyweight contender will be determined on Saturday in Dublin

Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Ian McCall is not bitter about the UFC handing Chris Cariaso the next flyweight title shot, but believes the next “real” contender will be determined on Saturday night when he steps into the octagon against Brad Pickett.

Just days ahead of the UFC’s anticipated return to Dublin, Ireland, the promotion announced that Demetrious Johnson would defend his title against Cariaso at the upcoming UFC 177 PPV event. The decision was met with some surprise from fans and pundits alike, as they believed the next contender could have been determined in the flyweight co-main event on Saturday.

McCall, however, is not too concerned with the UFC selection.

“Good for him,” McCall told Helwani in a pre-fight interview. “If DJ wants to stay busy, DJ stays busy. I think we’re going to figure out who is the real contender in this next fight. Again, Chris is good. Good for him. I don’t know what else to say.”

UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao takes place Saturday night at The O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland.

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About the author

Karim Zidan

Karim Zidan is a investigative reporter and feature writer focusing on the intersection of sports and politics. He has written for BloodyElbow since 2014 and has served as an associate editor since 2016. He also writes for The New York Times and The Guardian. Karim has been invited to speak about his work at numerous universities, including Princeton, and was a panelist at the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival and the Oslo Freedom Forum. He also participated in the United Nations counter-terrorism conference in 2021. His reporting on Ramzan Kadyrov’s involvement in MMA, much of which was done for Bloody Elbow, has led to numerous award nominations, and was the basis of an award-winning HBO Real Sports documentary.