“Before that, all I was was a guy who won a regional fight and just said CM Punk’s name, and now I’m fighting him”. Gall worked in Punk’s guard and landed hard strikes and then moved to side control easily.
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A former WWE champion, Punk admittedly “got burnt out” by the lifestyle of being on the road for more than 200 days a year, and found a new outlet for his passions and pursuits, training with Duke Roufus in Milwaukee. Even White isn’t sure exactly what to expect from Punk when the Octagon doors close.
Brock Lesnar successfully swapped WWE for MMA by becoming the UFC’s heavyweight champion in 2008, but he did so with the benefit of a legitimate martial arts background.
“I think if you know me, you can see that there’s a lot of CM Punk in the pages of Drax”, he said.
And let’s just say that Mir isn’t really digging it. This was a hell of a mountain to try to climb and I didn’t get to the summit today, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop. It honestly doesn’t matter to me.
“Obviously, Mickey’s a hell of a fighter”.
“I truly, actually believe one of the best things that ever happened to me happened in this building and it was that”. “Second-best night of my life, behind marrying my wife”.
Gall was signed to a UFC contract and, in his company debut in February, beat Mike Jackson (a part-time reporter who took his spot in press row minutes after the loss) in a contest to determine who would face Punk. Punk came out in an upright stance and moved aggressively forward. The action would see Gall pound away at the back of Punk’s head, and a chokehold being placed on him. Yet on the other side of the Octagon in Cleveland this Saturday, those same fans know Mickey Gall can fight, but can he deal with life under the bright lights? Punk represents what would happen if the average individual fought in the UFC and, while he will earn plenty of respect for having the courage to put his body on the line, it will be a long painful night for him. UFC President Dana White has never cared much for naysayers, anyway, and in the case of Punk, sometimes it’s all in who you know. After joining UFC, Gall made a flawless debut against Mike Jackson, winning in the first round via a rear-naked submission.
It was in the final seconds where Punk showed a glimmer of poise as he fought Gall’s hands from taking the proper position for the choke. Gall elected to wait, rather than ask for another fight. It’s hard to see this transpiring as anything other than a one-sided affair, and questions must be raised about how such a lopsided match-up has been sanctioned by the Ohio State Athletic Commission, who described it as “a competitive fight” earlier this week.
Beaten and bloody, with a nasty cut on his right ear, Punk said the fight was a highlight of his life and that he wants to fight on.
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“I grew up on Hulk versus Thing, so I would maybe throw Thing in there against Drax”, he said. I’m not looking at who [the second opponent is] going to be. I don’t want to do that. “I don’t think past this fight”.
