Ian McCall is co-managing a medical marijuana facility, could walk away from MMA

In December UFC flyweight Ian McCall will embark on a business venture that he said could eventually end his career with the industry-leading promotion.

“I am management at California’s first federally regulated marijuana dispensary,” McCall (13-5-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC), 31, told MMAjunkie Radio.

Of course, that description is not accurate. Although the Obama administration supports the decriminalization of marijuana, the drug remains illegal in the eyes of the federal government.

McCall, however, may have gotten the closest thing to running a legitimate business involving medical pot. He said he and his partners won a lottery in February that granted them one of 20 permits to sell the drug and its derivatives in Santa Ana, Calif., five years after the county banned storefront shops and raided those who were noncompliant.

It cost $1,690 (nonrefundable) just to apply for the lottery, and $12,086 (also nonrefundable) to go through the permitting process if selected. The city took in over $1 million alone in revenue from 627 applications.

Given the influx of cash, cannabis entrepreneurs are well aware of the potential payoffs of becoming a legal dispensary. One reportedly offered $600,000 for such a permit.

“We’re totally legal; we cannot be shut down,” McCall said. “The feds can’t come in and f-ck with us. The state, we’re going to be paying them a lot of taxes. And we’re going to be very by the book because we’re going to be watched by the government.”

McCall won’t disclose the name of his business or his partners, but he said the dispensary isn’t going to be like others that have popped up in Southern California and other states where medical marijuana has been legalized.

Ian McCall

“We’re going to be a beautiful wellness center, like you’d see in Malibu,” he said. “It will be the nicest dispensary on the planet, guaranteed.”

And while there’s no guarantee of success, McCall’s financial fortunes could quickly improve. A big yearly salary would be a great help as he recovers from multiple injuries; he hasn’t fought since a January decision loss to John Lineker at UFC 183. It might also motivate him to move away from fighting at a time when he’s disenchanted with the money he makes from it.

“Our sport’s in ruin, financially,” he said. “Our sport sucks. It’s not what it used to be. It’s not what it was five years ago. It’s not even what it is when I first got to the UFC. It’s horrible, as far as finances. So I’ve got to get another job, just like many other fighters. This one could take me away from MMA.”

He said the UFC had never treated him poorly and stressed that he isn’t “lashing out” at the promotion. But he also railed at the company’s culture, which he said is “corporate” and now populated with “pencil-pushers”; an apparel deal with Reebok and “hideous” uniforms; and what he sees as a lack of proper promotion for all but a few fighters.

He also acknowledged that every change has been an inevitable part of the UFC’s growth. His choice to move into another business, however, has been expedited by them.

“If I make enough money to where I don’t have to fight, then f-ck it, I’m not going to fight,” he said. “I want to fight. Fighting’s my passion. I’m still going to fight because I love it, but if I’m making half a million dollars a year – one million dollars a year, whatever – why would I fight? Why wouldn’t I just train and be a martial artist at my gym and train other fighters?

“It’s fun to fight on TV, and it’s fun to fight for the UFC, but they’re just so corporate. It’s just such big business now that it’s not fun, having to deal with all the other sh-t. We have to jump through all these hoops to do all this sh-t, and yet, we don’t make any money.

“If you paid me a couple of million dollars a year, I’ll f-cking do whatever you want. If I was making MLB money or NBA money, OK, sure, I’ll be your whipping boy. But you’re going to enforce all these laws on me and not pay me anything? That’s bullsh-t. I’m not blaming the UFC or (UFC President) Dana (White). It’s just how the sport evolved. It evolved like a big, big sport, yet we don’t make that kind of money.”

In speaking publicly about his grievances, McCall, of course, risks the ire of his promoter to whom he’s contractually bound. White has called out fighters who’ve previously bashed the Reebok deal, but McCall said speaking out is a calculated move, no matter how he may come across.

And in any event, he claims he doesn’t care about the repercussions.

“What the f-ck are they going to do to me?” he said with a laugh. “You don’t pay me that much money. Nobody cares about me anyway. The UFC has never treated me poorly, and I’m not lashing out at them. This is their businesses. They run it the way they run it. That’s how it goes. Yeah, I get the short end of the stick because I’m a 125-pound fighter and I haven’t been performing to my best and whatever, but still, it sucks. I still love the UFC. I still have fights left in me. But if I see a golden opportunity at the end of the tunnel that has nothing to do with fighting, I’m going to take it.

“When I came up in this sport, the one person that I saw rise to superstardom was Chuck Liddell. So obviously, as a young man, that’s what I aspired to. That as my goal. And those aren’t possible, really, at the moment. It didn’t work out. And I don’t know if it’s ever going to work out for anyone my size. (Flyweight champ) Demetrious (Johnson) should be f-cking star, and he’s not. No one cares about Demetrious, and that’s partially his own fault and partially the UFC’s fault for not pushing harder.

“There’s never just one person to blame. I’m not doing anything wrong. I can have an opinion. I’m not sitting here and calling for a union because that’s a whole other set of problems. If you see the inner-workings of the UFC on fight week, it’s beautiful. They’re such a well-oiled machine. But with certain people leaving, they’re pushing out the old and bringing in the new pencil-pushers, and that’s just how it goes.”

McCall said he’ll have a better idea of what his future holds at the start of next year, when the dispensary presumably opens for business. Until then, he’ll be coaching fighters at his longtime gym, Team Oyama, as well as working on a podcast.

Figuring out whether he’s healthy enough to get back into the cage is the priority. But he’ll also be thinking about whether it’s worth it.

“Nothing in this world is for sure,” he said. “(The dispensary) might work out, and even if it works out and I’m making a buttload of money, I still want to fight. I’m just being realistic. But on the other side, I really like beating people up for a living. So there will be more fights, unless there’s the injury thing. But a healthy me is going to fight and do other stuff. The first of the year, I’ll know more about my life.”

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MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM Ch. 93, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.