Ian McCall vs. Demetrious Johnson rematch likely for The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Mar 15, 2012 at 8:15 am ET
June's live finale of "The Ultimate Fighter: Live" appears to have a headliner.
After their initial meeting ended in a baffling majority draw following a commission error, Ian McCall (11-2-1 MMA, 0-0-1 UFC) and Demetrious Johnson (14-2-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC) are now expected to rematch at The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the planned matchup, which mmainterviews.tv first reported.
Although not officially announced, The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale is expected to take place June 1 in Las Vegas, and the night's main card airs on FX. As of this past week, the Nevada State Athletic Commission told MMAjunkie.com no specific venue had been reserved for the event, which also features the tournament finale of the current season of the "TUF" reality series.
McCall and Johnson kicked off the UFC's inaugural four-man flyweight tournament earlier this month at UFC on FX 2 in Sydney. After a spirited bout, Johnson initially was named the split-decision winner. Officials then said the scorecards were added incorrectly and Johnson actually was a majority-decision winner. But later in the night at the event's post-fight press conference, Craig Waller, the executive director of the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales, said he recorded a judge's score incorrectly (it should have been 10-8 instead of 10-9) and that the fight actually resulted in a majority draw via scores of 28-28, 29-29 and 29-28 (for Johnson).
The UFC had planned for such a scenario and required McCall vs. Johnson (as well as Joseph Benavidez vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani, which Benavidez won) to have mandatory sudden-victory fourth rounds. However, the tabulation error was caught so late that McCall and Johnson couldn't do the fourth round.
So now, they rematch in June, and the winner meets Benavidez later this year, when they fight for the UFC's first-ever flyweight title.
Johnson had failed in an attempt to take Dominick Cruz's bantamweight title before he dropped weight and joined the flyweight-tourney field. A former WEC fighter, "Mighty Mouse" had won four straight fights before the decision loss in the title fight.
Meanwhile, McCall, a former Tachi Palace Fights champion, snapped a four-fight win streak with his UFC-debut draw. "Uncle Creepy" put the win streak together following a short stint in the WEC.
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Mar 15, 2012 at 8:15 am ET
June's live finale of "The Ultimate Fighter: Live" appears to have a headliner.
After their initial meeting ended in a baffling majority draw following a commission error, Ian McCall (11-2-1 MMA, 0-0-1 UFC) and Demetrious Johnson (14-2-1 MMA, 2-1-1 UFC) are now expected to rematch at The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale.
MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) today confirmed the planned matchup, which mmainterviews.tv first reported.
Although not officially announced, The Ultimate Fighter Live Finale is expected to take place June 1 in Las Vegas, and the night's main card airs on FX. As of this past week, the Nevada State Athletic Commission told MMAjunkie.com no specific venue had been reserved for the event, which also features the tournament finale of the current season of the "TUF" reality series.
McCall and Johnson kicked off the UFC's inaugural four-man flyweight tournament earlier this month at UFC on FX 2 in Sydney. After a spirited bout, Johnson initially was named the split-decision winner. Officials then said the scorecards were added incorrectly and Johnson actually was a majority-decision winner. But later in the night at the event's post-fight press conference, Craig Waller, the executive director of the Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales, said he recorded a judge's score incorrectly (it should have been 10-8 instead of 10-9) and that the fight actually resulted in a majority draw via scores of 28-28, 29-29 and 29-28 (for Johnson).
The UFC had planned for such a scenario and required McCall vs. Johnson (as well as Joseph Benavidez vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani, which Benavidez won) to have mandatory sudden-victory fourth rounds. However, the tabulation error was caught so late that McCall and Johnson couldn't do the fourth round.
So now, they rematch in June, and the winner meets Benavidez later this year, when they fight for the UFC's first-ever flyweight title.
Johnson had failed in an attempt to take Dominick Cruz's bantamweight title before he dropped weight and joined the flyweight-tourney field. A former WEC fighter, "Mighty Mouse" had won four straight fights before the decision loss in the title fight.
Meanwhile, McCall, a former Tachi Palace Fights champion, snapped a four-fight win streak with his UFC-debut draw. "Uncle Creepy" put the win streak together following a short stint in the WEC.