Former mixed martial artist Ian McCall has detailed the mental battles he has faced since retiring from the sport.
The former UFC flyweight called it quits on his career last May after a three successive defeats while fighting for Japanese mma promotion, Rizin.
“Uncle Creepy” joined OTB’s MMA portion of last week's ‘Off The Brawl’ to speak about a number of issues, including mental battles that have hampered his life.
“Maybe if I had more brain damage; I’d have the potential to do something stupid. At least I can see that and go, ’Ok, done.’
McCall says he is luckier than most fighters because he has a strong network of people around him.
The former martial artist says his medicine of choice is Cannabis. Marijuana is readily available for medicinal use in the state of California.
“I have a good structure around me. I don’t need to go see a doctor. I don’t need to take medicine. Honestly for me – my medicine is cannabis. I do have a stress disorder”
The former UFC title challenger is relieved that men can now openly express their emotions without the fear of being mocked.
McCall says fighters need to help one another after their careers conclude.
The former 125lbs title challenger feels there should be a profound effort to help fighters, past and present, deal with mental struggles.
"At least we can talk about it, especially as men: 'Yeah, I was sad; Yeah, I did cry, and why do I feel these ways. And how can I fix it?' - To have people like Tyson Fury, and maybe myself to a certain extent, to help out people; it's about helping other people get better."
You can watch the full interview above from last week's OFF THE BRAWL MMA Show
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