Mickey Gall says Brown fighting for 'Lookin' for a Fight' belt he took from Northcutt

NEW YORK – UFC welterweight Mickey Gall remains the most successful product of “Dana White’s Lookin’ for a Fight” Web series. But there’s only so long he wants to be known for that.

After beating ex-WWE champ turned MMA fighter Phil “CM Punk” Brooks in his debut, and then deflating the hype of fellow reality show vet Sage Northcutt, Gall (4-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) is ready to return to the main-card, pay-per-view life.

First, though, the 25-year-old New Jersey native must put away Randy Brown (9-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC), another veteran of the show.

“I’ve got the ‘Lookin’ for a Fight’ belt. I took that from Sage,” Gall joked to MMAjunkie at a media day for UFC 217, where he faces Brown on the FS1-televised prelims at Madison Square Garden in New York City. “He had it, I took it, and now I’m giving Randy a shot at it.”

Brown has been more active than Gall inside the UFC octagon since the show, but he’s struggled with consistency, losing two of his five appearances. The fight doesn’t appear to be a step up for Gall, who’s won three straight, including his high-profile debut.

Gall looks at the fight as “a gift,” but anticipates bigger challenges in the future.

“This might be my last ‘Lookin’ for a Fight’ guy, so I’m going to coast off into the sunset with that belt, and then as I become a legit welterweight contender, and then No. 15, 10, No. 5, and then I’ll have a title shot,” he said.

Gall faces a crowded field in the 170-pound division. Not only that, he’s got to cut through the noise of contenders vying for title shots against champ Tyron Woodley. Now, the callouts that helped him get a high-profile debut against Punk are downright commonplace.

“I’ve noticied a huge wave in callouts over the past year or two,” Gall said. “I think I’m a reason for that. I think people are seeing my success with it. There’s been people doing it for years, but now, it’s become, like, mandatory.

“After certain fights, like Tony Ferguson calling out (Conor) ‘McNuggets’ (McGregor) or Jon Jones calling out Brock Lesnar. There’s a million of them. (Cris) Cyborg is calling chicks out on Instagram. So I think people are figuring it out.

“It’s a chance to get your say; you can put your two cents in. It adds a little bit of drama. It makes it a little personal, and it makes it fun. We’re not just athletes – we’re entertainers.”

Not everyone is cut out for the approach he took, however.

“There’s some clunky ones,” he said. “They’re very cringe-worthy. Sometimes people act out of your character, and that’s a problem. If that’s not you – take Jim Miller. He won’t be calling someone out. So he doesn’t. But some of these guys are like, ‘Let me try to become a star now,’ and it just comes off bad and fraudulent and cringey.”

Gall has learned a few lessons about the timing of such invitations, as well. A previous callout of the retired Dan Hardy was met with a shrug from the onetime welterweight title challenger, who noted he was retired and had no intention of fighting an up-and-comer.

That isn’t going to stop Gall from speaking up. He has another callout in mind if he takes the win from Brown on Saturday. Of course, he’s keeping the lid on until he steps up to the post-fight mic.

After all, there won’t be much drama to add unless there’s some suspense.

For more on UFC 217, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.