In a recent interview with Welcome to Connecticut, Mickey Gall discussed his upcoming fight in the UFC, against the modern era’s longest reigning WWE Champion CM Punk.
Gall, who comes into the fight with a 2-0 record (1-0 UFC), admitted his calling out CM Punk was a calculated risk that paid off.
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.
The Miller Brothers MMA product admits that he is not familiar with CM Punk’s WWE career, as the undefeated fighter has not been a wrestling fan since the famed Attitude Era.
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.'
Gall, who essentially owes his own UFC opportunities to CM Punk, is not nearly as negative towards the way the fight promotion has treated his unproven rookie opponent.
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.
Mickey Gall also admitted how important this fight is to his young career, equal to the importance it holds for CM Punk.
I know I'll look like an a**hole 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.
“UFC 203: Miocic vs. Overeem” emanates on September 16, 2016 from The Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
Stipe Miocic defends his UFC World Heavyweight Championship against former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem in the main event, with Mickey Gall vs. CM Punk taking place on the pay-per-view undercard.
This will be CM Punk’s first fight since signing with the UFC in December 2014.
