CM Punk’s moniker in the WWE was ‘Best in the World’ and few would have disputed that, given how dexterious he was both in the ring, and certainly on the microphone. However, when he decided to opt for a career in MMA after calling it quits with the WWE, there quite a few raised eyebrows to say the least.
And as he found out during the short 2-odd minutes he spent in the Octagon, their skepticism was justified. CM Punk may have made an amateur mistake in rushing Mickey Gall, but what ensued after Gall took him to the ground was nothing short of a mauling.
Punk didn’t land 1 clear strike in the fight, not that it lasted too long, but even in the 2-odd minutes that it did last, the gulf in class between an MMA fighter that has been training for this for almost a decade and a ‘celebrity that wants to challenge himself’ as Joe Rogan succinctly put it, was painfully apparent.
We may or may not see Punk again in the Octagon, although he said that he would be back in his post-fight interview, but it is quite apparent that Mickey Gall is here to stay.
He has been nothing but highly impressive in his 2 UFC fights till now, and it would seem that he has quite the nose for picking a fight as well, calling out Super Sage Northcutt, another fighter that became popular after featuring in the ‘Dana White: Looking for a Fight’ series.
On that note, here are 5 things that you may not have known about Mickey Gall.
#5 He has been fighting since he was 16 years old
CM Punk has been training for his MMA debut for almost 2 years now, but the notion that that duration of training was enough to offset nearly a decade of preparation that Gall has undergone was quickly dispelled in the fight.
Gall, who is 24 now, has been training in Martial Arts since he was 16, when he was enrolled in Jiu-Jitsu classes by his father. Now a brown belt, the superiority that he possessed over CM Punk was apparent in the manner he maintained top control and made light work out of him on the ground.
#4 He drove a bread truck as a night job when he was studying
Studying in a University and balancing rigorous MMA training with it is an onerous task by itself, but when you factor in that Mickey Gall spent the nights coasting across town in a Bread Delivey truck, you get an insight into how hard the boy has worked to get to where he is at now.
Yes, his entry into the UFC was rather fortunate, but take nothing away from the gumpion and drive – pun unintended – that this young man showed to try and make it in life. And after dispatching of CM Punk, it looks highly likely that the UFC will grant him his wish of facing Sage Northcutt next.
And that means if you don’t know Mickey Gall by now, you surely will, by the time his next fight comes around.
#3 He attended Rutgers University and has a Degree in Communications
Gone are the days when fighters and pro-wrestlers were viewed as cultists; uneducated and brash. Many fighters and pro-wrestlers alike, are very smart individuals that have professional qualifications that they can fall back upon, should they choose to.
And Mickey Gall is no different.
His passion may lie within the Octagon, but that hasn’t stopped him from obtaining a Degree in Communications from Rutgers University, a fail-safe that his family insisted that he have. Being the family-oriented man that he is, Gall obliged, working night shifts and fitting in MMA training in between a packed study schedule.
He has, undoubtedly, come out the better for it.
#4 He trains at the Miller Brothers Gym
As any fighter worth his salt would tell you, training at a top gym under the tutelage of experienced coaches makes a world of difference when you ply your trade in the premier MMA promotion in the world that is the UFC.
And while CM Punk pulled off all the stops that he could in the span of 2 years, by enlisting the services of a world-class gym in Roufusport, it is worth mentioning that Mickey Gall was no lesser prepared for his fight, given that he trains with the Miller Brothers.
Jim Miller fights in the Lightweight Division of the UFC and his elder brother Dan also used to fight for the promotion. Their top level experience and know-how was surely passed on to Gall, who has displayed no nerves whatsoever in either of his UFC fights thus far.
#5 He will probably go on to have a long career in the UFC
Let’s face it. Mickey Gall bought the lottery ticket when he called out CM Punk in the Looking For A Fight series – full well knowing that Dana White was looking for an opponent for the former pro-wrestler – and he damn sure punched by making light work out of him.
And his next move was just as astutely thought through as his first, when he called out another media darling in Sage Northcutt after the fight. Marketing-wise this fight makes a lot of sense. And whatever Sage Northcutt may or may not be, no one can dispute that he is a true martial artist.
Mickey Gall has likely earned himself a another feature bout in the UFC if this goes through, and logic would dictate that it should.
In an era heralded by Conor McGregor, where marketability in the UFC is slowly but surely superceding rankings or title fights, Mickey Gall seems to started the process of truly carving out himself a niche.
He claimed that he was surprised when his face was plastered over the UFC 203 poster, but if he stays true to the billing he is creating for himself, then he shouldn’t be when it happens again.
