Mickey Gall On CM Punk: ‘I’ll Finish Him In The First Round’
Last week, former WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk announced on the new UFC podcast — UFC Unfiltered with Matt Serra and Jim Norton– that he would finally be making his debut inside the Octagon on September 10 at UFC 203. The show will be headlined by the Heavyweight Championship fight between Alistair Overeem and Stipe Miocic, and the CM Punk fight may end up being the show’s co-main-event.
It took nearly two years for the UFC to announce the date of CM Punk’s debut, and some thought that the former WWE superstar would never end up fighting. Of course, we’re still three months away from the fight, so there’s a possibility that Punk or even Gall could end up getting injured while preparing for the bout.
On Monday, Mickey Gall appeared on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour, and he commented on his upcoming fight with CM Punk. Gall made it clear that he respects Punk for what he accomplished in WWE and for being a self-made man, but he believes that he’ll finish the former WWE star in the very first round, saying that the fight will be very similar to his fight with Mike Jackson, which ended in just 45 seconds.
BREAKING: @CMPunk announces on #UFCUnfiltered he'll debut vs @MickeyGall at #UFC203!!!! ?? https://t.co/kQZBxHzDcK pic.twitter.com/3jDGUruLVO
— UFC (@ufc) June 23, 2016
“I have total respect for [CM Punk]. I respect him from the standpoint of he made himself something great [in WWE]. You have to respect that greatness, you have to respect all the things he’s done. He’s accomplished things. He’s a self-made guy. I totally respect him.”
“The fight will probably last [a little longer than a minute]. I think I’ll take him out in the first round. I’ll hit him hard, drop him, either pound him out or tap him out. It’ll be very similar to the Mike Jackson fight.”
While Gall is expecting that the fight won’t last very long, he told Helwani that he’s training for a full five-round fight, even though the bout is only scheduled to go three rounds. But Gall says that he’s training for Punk like he’s preparing to face Robbie Lawler, who is the UFC Welterweight Champion.
The betting odds for UFC 203 have been released, and Mickey Gall is, to the surprise of no one, the favorite going into his fight with CM Punk. Gall, who has an amateur record of 2-0, and a pro record of 2-0, is at -300, while Punk, who has no professional or amateur mixed-martial-arts experience, is listed at +250.
There have been reports that CM Punk hasn’t been progressing well as an MMA fighter, which is partially the reason why his debut has been held off for so long. The other reason it’s been held off for so long is, of course, injuries. Punk has had a couple of minor and major injuries since he singed with the UFC in December of 2014, but he, like all of his fans, is hoping that he can have a healthy and successful training camp leading into UFC 203.
Prior to finding out that needed surgery, Punk made it clear that he wanted to fight at UFC 200. Gall also teased that the two were going to fight each other at next month’s super-show. But as previously mentioned, Punk’s back injury kept him out of action.
In the weeks leading up to the fight, Fox Sports 1 will be airing a four-part series, which will document both Punk and Gall’s training and preparation for their bout at UFC 203. The dates that the series will air on haven’t yet been announced, but the assumption is that they’ll air in late August or early September.
[Image via UFC]
