After a disappointing loss, sometimes it's a good idea to wait to get an interview. I've always been of the school of thought that immediate, post fight interviews are fraught with emotion, and might not bring out the answers that the media and fans may be looking for. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with an immediate interview, it's just that I, personally, like to wait a few days or a week before approaching someone coming off a loss.

It is with that thought in mind, that I pursued Ian McCall a few days ago for an interview. With a week to get over the sting of the loss to Demetrious Johnson, I felt that better information could be acquired, and not so saturated with emotion. Ian is one of those rare athletes that gives 100% of himself to his fans. He's open and honest, and rarely, if ever, holds anything back. TapouT Radio conducted a relatively quick interview with Ian (had to be short because he was on location at the Warped Tour), just to get his thoughts coming off the loss, and who he would like to target next.

*Note: Interviewer is either my co-host, Evan Shoman of TapouT Radio, or myself. When I don't conduct these interviews by myself, I just put "Interviewer" to eliminate having to bounce back and forth between three different names.

Interviewer: What do you think wrong in the fight with Demetrious?

Ian McCall: I failed. I failed that test miserably. No excuses. I just chalk it up to me being stupid and cutting too much weight. I didn't do my diet perfectly like I usually do. I cut like 19 pounds, 24 hours prior to the fight. I screwed up. I was off my game. It happens. My hat's off to Demetrious for beating the crap out of me.

Interviewer: In between the first and second round, your corner could be heard saying to you, 'I know you're hurting, you've just got to get through the next 10 minutes", or something to that effect. Were you already injured coming into this fight?

Ian McCall: I think I caught some sort of bug. I was sick and feeling sh*tty all week leading up to it. It just wasn't my night. Weight cut-wise, I felt horrible. I've never felt so bad making a cut, but what it comes down to, is that it's all my own fault. It's nobody else's fault.

It happens, though. I would much rather have the "we're 1-1 now", but we're actually 0-1-1, so I just have to f*cking wait. I have to beat up everybody else before I get a title shot. That's just how it is and I have to deal with it.

I don't even know if DJ can get past Joseph Benavidez, to be honest. Nothing against Joe, I like Joe more than I like Demetrious, but I would like Demetrious to beat Joe, because it would make me look better and give me a little more satisfaction in life [laughs], but I don't know if I really see that happening.

Interviewer: Why is it that you feel DJ won't win? Can you give specific reasons, or point out where you think Benavidez will be stronger?

Ian McCall: I just don't see him beating Joe. It could happen. He beat me, and I never thought that would happen. I see Joe coming in more prepared than I was. Demetrious will just do what he did to me. Sneak in, potshot, and back out. He runs, but not in a bad way. He runs because it's what he's good at. He still engagesand stuff. We'll see how it goes. I'm definitely interested in watching their fight.

I do think he has a good style to beat Joe. Maybe it's just that I'm mad at myself. I don't know. I just think Joe can beat him. He's not that hard to beat, but you have to be able to get your hands on him. Once you get your hands on him, you put him on his back, and once you put him on his back, he doesn't like that. If Joe can do what I did in the first fight, and obviously get it done a lot quicker, he's got this. If he doesn't, he's going to have to deal with the frustration of DJ picking his points and moving a lot. He'll eventually end up taking you down. It's not that his wrestling is that good, it's just that he has good timing. I just know he frustrated the crap out of me.

Interviewer: When do you plan to get back in the gym and who would you like next?

Ian McCall: Right now, I'm just getting back into the gym. I'm just a little butt hurt and depressed at myself for performing so poorly. They haven't said anything, but I've wanted to fight Yasuhiro Urushitani for a while now, but he's already lined up with someone. They just haven't really talked about it yet. I told them that if anybody gets injured, make sure I'm the one that's fighting next, because I want to fight as soon as possible to get that taste out of my mouth.

Interviewer: You're only two fights in with the UFC. Do you already feel comfortable or familiar enough to ask for the fights that you want?

Ian McCall: It never hurts to ask. The first person I asked for after the fight, was John Dodson. Sean Shelby said it didn't make sense. He's coming off a win, I'm coming off a loss. He told me to give it a bit and win [laughs]. I think about it, and I started off my UFC career at 0-1-1. That's super depressing to me. I've just got to get back on the winning track. Everyoine pegs him as the new number one contender. I'll have to beat one or two people, then maybe we can fight for that number one contender spot.

Follow Ian via his Twitter, @UncleCreepyMMA



