At UFC 203, Mickey Gall easily handed former WWE superstar Phil “CM Punk” Brooks to advance his professional record to 3-0.
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Gall then saw an opening for him to attempt the rear naked choke in which he succeeded, forcing Punk to tap out after the second minute of round one.
Punk, pinned up against the fencing, was unable to wriggle free from under Gall and was caught by numerous blows to the head, including a powerful right to the temple.
Following the fight, Punk spoke rather poignantly in the octagon about how this would not be his last fight and how people should believe in themselves.
Punk’s first fight in mixed martial arts was on the undercard of heavyweight Stipe Miocic’s title defense against Alistair Overeem, who will have to battle both the 6-foot-4, 240-pounder Clevelander and a sellout crowd of more than 20,000 rooting against him.
“He got me in that front headlock, I felt fine. But I know I’m better than that”, said Punk.
In the buildup to the fight, Gall had pledged to “destroy” Punk and the New Jersey fighter delivered on his promise, quickly taking down Punk on his back.
On the surface, the loss to Gall seems like the latest bad thing to happen to Punk in the city of Cleveland. “I just remember punching him in the face repeatedly until he was unconscious”. I’ve beat up 10 year guys and been doing it since I was a teenager.
“I said I would keep this belt for a long time and I did it”. I’m a thinker. I saw the path, and this is where I want to be. That’s just who I am. I’m not going to shelve it and leave it in the middle of the street.
Prior to UFC 203, Gall said he didn’t deserve to be on the main card when respected veterans like Urijah Faber were also competing.
‘I just like to take challenges.
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“He hit harder than I thought, he knocked me down but I wasn’t hurt”, Miocic said of a flash knockdown earlier in the first frame. “Now I get going with the UFC killers, and I can prove myself”. Not surprisingly, he was soundly defeated by Mickey Gall, a lesser known fighter who still had a lot more experience than Punk. He said, “The second best day of my life”. He got choked up, took a moment and, “She said she’s proud of me, you know”. There are several more fighting promotions Punk could become a marquee name in if White doesn’t feel like he’s living up to his potential within the company, but it might be a smarter move to start up amateur fighting for the time being.
