Ian McCall was fighting at the top of the flyweight division before the UFC had a 125-pound title. In 2011 he beat Jussier Formiga and Dustin Ortiz, then submitted Darrell Montague to win the Tachi Palace Fights championship.

Uncle Creepy entered the UFC's first flyweight championship tournament in 2012. His first fight with Demetrious Johnson ended in a draw and they fought again three months later. He went on to win against Iliarde Santos and Brad Pickett in the UFC.

McCall was part of Metal Mulisha's fight team and trained Brian Deegan for a charity fight in 2011. He was working with the crew in the gym while preparing for his own title fights.