They just couldn’t wait until fight night.
Former UFC flyweight contender Ian McCall is set to return to action after almost three years away from the fight game and it’s clear that he’s up for the bout.
Having been granted a requested release from his UFC contract in October, McCall agreed to fight under the Rizin Fighting Federation banner and will make his promotional debut this Friday against Portuguese prospect Manel Kape.
‘Uncle Creepy’ will return to bantamweight for his first non-UFC contest since 2011 and we can expect fireworks if the weigh-ins are anything to go by.
As both men posed for photographs after hitting the scales, Kape reached across and gave McCall a gentle slap to the back of his head.
And, well, McCall didn’t like that one bit.
https://twitter.com/Grabaka_Hitman/status/946283570598961152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mmafighting.com%2F2017%2F12%2F28%2F16825098%2Fian-mccall-manel-kape-exchange-blows-rizin-weigh-ins
It initially looked as though the 33-year-old had connected with a punch but, on second viewing, McCall actually let fly with an open-hand slap before organisers separated them to avoid a melee.
It was a slap. If my hand was closed he would have dropped https://t.co/SE8zcJh1pu
— Ian McCall (@Unclecreepymma) December 28, 2017
McCall’s career highlight came when he fought to a draw with pound-for-pound king Demetrious Johnson in his UFC debut back in 2012.
A string of injuries and medical issues hampered the career of the California native, who had to pull out of a grand total of nine fights during his UFC tenure.
With his clash against Kape just around the corner, it doesn’t look like anything will get in the way of McCall getting his hands on his opponent.
