Twenty-six-year-old Dustin Ortiz (14-4) will get his shot at redemption against number four ranked UFC flyweight Ian McCall (13-5-1) when the two meet on Aug. 8 at UFC Fight Night 73: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux in Nashville, Tenn.
Ortiz, a Nashville native, lost a unanimous decision to McCall in 2011 in the Tachi Palace organization prior to the UFC’s implementation of their 125-pound men’s division.
Since their first meeting Ortiz has taken up residence in Milwaukee, Wis., where he trains alongside the Pettis brothers, Ben Askren, CM Punk and others at Roufusport. He’s put together a 3-2 run in the UFC with wins over Jose Maria, Ray Borg and Justin Scoggins.
Ortiz last fought in Nov. 2014 when he dropped a decision to former title contender Joseph Benavidez, who currently holds the number two spot.
McCall had put together back-to-back unanimous decision wins over Iliarde Santos and Brad Pickett before dropping a decision to John Lineker back in January. It’s also worth noting “Uncle Creepy” fought to a draw with current 125-pound king Demetrious Johnson in his UFC debut in 2012.
When Ortiz and McCall first fought it was Ortiz’s first fight outside his home state and he was going up against a guy who’d already been in the cage with the likes of Dominick Cruz and Jussier Formiga. McCall was considered one of the best in the world and the fight may have been a little too much too soon for the Tennessee native.
How will Ortiz fare this time? Has he caught up to the former Tachi Palace Flyweight champion or is there still some distance in their skill sets? We’ll find out on Aug. 8 when the UFC returns to Nashville for the first time since 2012.
Here’s the full UFC Fight Night 73 line-up as it currently stands:
- Light Heavyweight: Glover Teixeira vs. Ovince Saint Preux
- Flyweight: Dustin Ortiz vs. Ian McCall
- Bantamweight: Marlon Vera vs. Roman Salazar
- Light Heavyweight: Jared Cannonier vs. Jonathan Wilson
- Heavyweight: Jared Rosholt vs. Timothy Johnson
- Lightweight: Michael Johnson vs. Beneil Dariush
- Lightweight: Anthony Christodoulou vs. Scott Holtzman
- Women’s Bantamweight: Sara McMann vs. Amanda Nunes
- Middleweight: Chris Camozzi vs. Tom Watson