It's not as crazy as it sounds.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was forced to cancel the flyweight co-main event between Ian McCall and John Lineker last Saturday night (Nov. 8, 2014), after "Uncle Creepy" fell ill and was forced to withdraw from the FOX Sports 1 telecast in Uberlandia, Brazil.
But don't expect Lineker to be waiting around for McCall to get better.
The hard-hitting flyweight is already looking past his former opponent in favor of a potential 125-pound title fight against Demetrious Johnson, who all but cleaned out the division over the past year with wins over John Dodson, Joseph Benavidez, and Ali Bagautinov.
Lineker pleads his case to MMA Fighting:
"I'm upset because I wanted to fight, I trained hard for months and couldn't fight, but we have to understand. Since I wanted to fight (McCall) and ask for a shot at the title, why can't I just go ahead and fight the champion? UFC, please, give me this opportunity. I have evolved a lot since my first fight in the UFC, and I'm 100 percent ready to fight for the title. I need three or four months to get ready (for Johnson), to a good training camp. Weight is not a problem anymore."
"Hands of Stone" has a history of failing to make the 125-pound limit and needed two tries at the UFC Fight Night 56 weigh in event last Friday.
Fortunately for Lineker, four of the five fighters ranked above him in the official UFC rankings -- save for Jussier da Silva -- have already been defeated by Johnson, and it's unlikely the promotion will give "Formiga" a title shot without him first securing a signature win.
Then again, anything is possible in this division.