Many expected Ian McCall and Brad Pickett to have a fight of the night in Dublin, however McCall proved too good for the Englishman. Pickett never seemed to utilise his combinations, tending to look for One Punch to no avail. McCall used his superior wrestling, speed and better combinations to take the fight unanimously, thus ending any chance of a title shot at Flyweight. After the fight Pickett announced he would be moving back up to Bantamweight, however things are definitely more promising for McCall. With Demetrious Johnson set to defend his Flyweight title against Chris Cariaso at UFC 177 there are slim chances that DJ will fight again in 2014. So what does this mean for McCall? Well, although he is clearly the number one contender, a win over another top 10 guy can't hurt his cause. John Lineker was back to winning ways at UFC Fight Night 45, beating Alptekin Ozkilic with an emphatic knockout In the third round. This moved him up to the #6 ranking, and with McCall #3 there is no better fight to determine DJ's next challenger. It is no secret that Lineker has struggled making weight at Flyweight, but that finally seems to be past him. The fight itself is stylistic heaven. Lineker loves to set up those looping knockout blows, whereas McCall is much more technical and calculated with his shots. The difference maker could be Uncle Creepy's wrestling, however Lineker has no problem going to the ground.
