LAS VEGAS – Mickey Gall is living a charmed life as a professional fighter so far. He's only 24 years old and was the main event in his pro debut.
And it just so happened that a very prominent visitor, UFC president Dana White, showed up cageside to watch Gall fight Ron Templeton in Philadelphia on Nov. 21.
White had shown up at the Dead Serious MMA show as part of an episode of his new series, "Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight." The pilot episode led White to 19-year-old Sage Northcutt, who's already fought three times in UFC and exploded in popularity.
Long before Gall walked out for the fight, he knew that White would be there. And he, like many others, had seen what happened to Northcutt.
"I knew he was there, so how could I not do something?" Gall asked.
White would have been hard to miss next to the cage, but it's what Gall did that landed him a UFC contract. Not only did he quickly submit Templeton, he rushed over to White and immediately called out ex-WWE champion CM Punk.
Punk signed with the UFC in late 2014 and has been training at Roufusport in Milwaukee under the tutelage of Duke Roufus. He's expected to debut in either June or July.
Punk has more recognition than a large majority of fighters on the UFC roster, but no experience in a "real" fight. So the UFC was in a bind in finding an opponent for Punk on its roster who would be a fair match.
No one knows what to expect from Punk, but given his inexperience, he's not going to be fighting anyone of note any time soon.
Enter Gall.
"It was very calculated on my part [to call out Punk]," Gall said. "When I found out Dana was going to be there, immediately after I got off the phone with Frankie Perez, who owns Dead Serious, it just hit me that I should call out CM Punk. My goal was to be in the UFC and here was Dana White going to be at my fight.
"And I knew it would be hard for me to get to the UFC no matter how good I looked, because I didn't have any fights. But Punk was sitting there 0-0 and they had to get someone for him."
White liked Gall's thought process and signed him. Gall will make his UFC debut on Saturday at the MGM Grand against Mike (not Michael) Jackson, and will get the bout against Punk with a victory.
Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, told Yahoo Sports he liked the way Gall took advantage of the situation. But his desire to fight in MMA is no joke.
"I'll be ready to fight," Punk said.
Gall said he will, too. He trains in New Jersey with brothers Jim and Dan Miller, and said he's aware of what it takes to compete at the sport's highest level.
He said he was a teenager when he made it his life's ambition to reach the UFC.
"I've been doing jiu-jitsu since I was 16 and it was my dream at that point to fight in the UFC some day," he said. "It's been my life's dream to be an MMA fighter and to make it to the UFC. I went to Rutgers University so I could keep training at a gym [near there].
"I had three amateur fights and I train with some of the best guys in the world on a daily basis. [Punk's] been wrestling and whatnot and of course he's more famous and well known than I am. But I think I'm the better, more experienced fighter."
Roufus told Yahoo Sports that Punk had been progressing nicely and said he felt his striking had come along well.
Still, no one save for the precious few who train with him know what to expect from him as an MMA fighter.
Gall said he's not surprised to hear Roufus praising his striking, but said he's not going to be intimidated. Because of Punk's notoriety as a former WWE champion, there will be a lot of attention paid to his fight.
"I don't know how to take that," Gall said of Roufus' praise of Punk. "I know he has a Kempo [karate] background, so I am sure he has some stuff, but I don't know. But I'm training as if he'll be the best fighter in the world."
Of course, he won't be fighting Punk if he can't defeat Jackson on Saturday. Gall, who is an ebullient sort who was the captain of his high school football team and also played baseball and basketball, said he knows he needs to take care of business against Jackson first. If he does, the spotlight and the pressure are going to turn up immensely.
"This is the life I wanted, and I have to be ready to deal with that because it all comes with it," Gall said. "It's part of the territory. I know [Punk] is used to fighting in front of crowds and being on the big stage, and so that is an advantage for him. But I'm the better, more experienced fighter and I think I'll be able to prove that."
