Mickey Gall Talks Upcoming Fight With CM Punk, How He Would Feel If Punk Beat Him, His Game Plan
Recently on the Welcome To Connecticut podcast, UFC fighter Mickey Gall talked about his upcoming fight with former WWE Superstar CM Punk at UFC 203.
On the subject of calling out Punk, Gall admitted that he planned to do it, knowing that the longest reigning WWE Champion of the modern era was a realistic opponent, given their comparable level of MMA experience.
"Frankie Perez, Sr., the owner of Dead Serious MMA, where I had my fight for, my first pro fight, he called me about a month before, and he was like, 'hey, I've got big news: Dana White's going to be at the fight.' I was like, 'what?' Like, 'wow, that's amazing. How do I make the most of it?', that's what I'm thinking in my head. I'm going back and forth, right? 'Oh, I'll call out CM Punk!' That's the only like record. Like, who am I going to call out, Robbie Lawler? I'm going to look like an idiot. That fight would never happen. I was going to be 1 – 0. CM Punk was 0 – 0, so that fight's realistic. That's a way to get my foot in the door to get in the UFC, where I want to be and where I know I belong. So yeah, it all really worked out."
According to Gall, he was not really familiar with CM Punk prior to being matched up with him in UFC, as Gall was not a professional wrestling fan while 'The Straight Edge Superstar' was making his name in WWE.
"To be honest, I was not very familiar [with CM Punk]. I guess I knew his name the same way I knew who, like, John Cena was when he was wrestling. I was a [professional] wrestling fan when I was little. I was a 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin fan, but I got into middle school and did other stuff. Do you know what I mean? I fell out of touch with wrestling. And then I started hearing about him in UFC, that he was going to have a UFC fight. I never really thought that I'd be the guy matched up with him. Then, when Dana White ends up at my fight, I was like, 'let me just say this guy's name and see what happens.'"
When asked how he is game planning for Punk without any tape of him fighting, Gall said that he has gone into fights in the past where he had no tape of his opponent in prior fights and that he intends to impose his will on Punk at UFC 203.
"I'm going to go in there and force my game onto him. It doesn't matter what he does because I'm going to be able to force my game onto him. I've just been practicing the violent, painful techniques that I've been going over, that I'm good at, and I'm going to bring them all out in the cage. My game's going to flourish that night."
Gall acknowledged that he understands the complaints that many fighter have had regarding the way Punk is being treated by UFC brass; however, Gall also appreciates that Punk will bring new fans to the sport.
"He's going to bring a lot of eyes and a lot of pay-per-view buys to the sport, and new eyes, so our sport is expanding and I see that as a good thing." Gall added, "he's really trying to be a real MMA fighter, I believe. He's going for it. He's putting in the time and I've been doing it for eight years, putting in my time, so you're going to see a real MMA fight when we fight."
In Gall's view, the stakes for his UFC 203 bout could not be any higher.
"I know I'll look like an asshole if I get beat by CM Punk. I'll look like a joke, so I'm taking this very seriously. I get nervous, but I welcome the big stage. I love it." Gall continued, "I'm training as if he's a champion. I'm aware of the high stakes of it. I have a lot to gain. I'd have so much to lose also, but I will not lose. I will not lose to CM Punk. No way."
Click here to check out the interview. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit Welcome To Connecticut with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Welcome To Connecticut