The last month has been a whirlwind for Mickey Gall.
First he got to fight in front of UFC president Dana White at a local show in New Jersey (See how it happened here). Then after the fight, Gall called out CM Punk in front of the boss hoping to secure a longshot lottery ticket into the UFC.
“I was tossing up a Hail Mary a little bit,” Gall said. “Dana White was there and I had to make the most of it. (CM Punk) is the only guy I could fight. I couldn’t fight Robbie Lawler or Johny Hendricks – they’re too experienced. He’s 0-0 and I was going to be 1-0, so that fight can happen.”
There’s one stipulation though. Gall has beat Mike Jackson this Saturday night in the UFC FIGHT PASS prelims main event of Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson.
But Gall isn’t worried about the pressure. He plans to make easy work of Jackson and then shift the focus to Punk.
“I’m not sweating it. Lights are just lights,” Gall said. “The bottom line is that I’m just in a cage with a person. (CM Punk) will be used to the lights, but he’s going to have to deal with fighting me. Every time he’s been in a ring he’s doing off-the-ropes closelines and stuff. Every time I’m in there I’m fighting. I think it’s going to be more of a shock for him than for me.”
Gall may be forced to talk about Punk this week, but he’s focused in on the task at hand. He knows that Jackson presents a challenge on fight night and he is eager to prove he belongs in the UFC.
Inside the Octagon, Gall is a well-rounded fighter who likes to keep it standing to put on a show for the fans.
Don’t miss Mickey Gall vs. Mike Jackson! Join UFC FIGHT PASS and watch the early prelims at 7 pm ET
But if the fight needs to go to the ground, Gall is right at home where he began training for MMA.
“I move, I hit hard – I hit hard to the head. If they stay awake on the feet I can take anyone down and I can submit anyone,” Gall said. “My jiu-jitsu on paper is definitely my stronger suit. I’m a brown belt and I’ve been doing that since I was 16. But I hit hard and I’d like to get some knockouts. I’d like to knock this guy outs. Knockouts are fun.”