UFC 213 winner Chad Laprise explains why he called out 'spoon-fed' Mickey Gall

LAS VEGAS – Immediately after beating Brian Camozzi at Saturday’s UFC 213, Chad Laprise joined the ever-growing list of men who want a stab at Mickey Gall.

Speaking to reporters backstage after the third-round TKO of Camozzi  (7-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC), Laprise (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) explained the reasoning behind the callout made in the octagon. Spoiler alert: It sounds a lot like the same one given by all the other fighters who have asked for Gall (4-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) in their own speeches.

“He’s just been spoon-fed,” Laprise said after the FS1-televised welterweight bout at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. “He was on (the ‘Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight’) show. I had to work my way here. I went through ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ I won ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’

“This is my seventh fight in the UFC now. I fought all tough guys. Mickey Gall fought C.M. Punk and a reporter (Mike Jackson) who’d never had a fight in his life. I want to give him a test to fight a real guy. I have no disrespect against him – good on the kid. But come fight me and things will be different.”

Laprise says the issue is not personal – and that Gall not only “seems like a good kid” but also possesses some skills of his own. But, ultimately, he doesn’t foresee a particularly tough night against him.

“Obviously, getting Mickey Gall is a long shot,” Laprise said. “Everybody wants to fight Mickey Gall. He’s one of the easiest guys, who has the biggest name.

“He’s not UFC level. He can beat lower-ranked guys. He’s OK. I’m sure he has decent jiu-jitsu. But he’s not a guy like me-level. He’s not a lot of guys that are in the welterweight division-level. Obviously, I’m not someone who wants to trash talk. I’m just saying, facts are facts.”

Laprise even has a time and location in mind: Sept. 9, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where UFC 215 is set to take place. And though he’s aware Gall may be a hard get, Ontario’s Laprise trusts he’s getting his home-country fight regardless.

“I am fighting there,” Laprise said. “It’s not confirmed, but I was barking at (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby from the side of the cage. I was already getting ready for a fight in Edmonton before I took this fight. That was the fight I was planning on happening.

“I saw that Camozzi’s opponent got hurt, so I right away called Sean. I said, ‘Listen, Sean. I’ll step in and take fight.’ He said sure. So I said, ‘But I’ll fight in Edmonton after.'”

That may end up working out perfectly, since Laprise remembers reading on social media that Gall – who’s been flying under the radar since a UFC on FOX 22 submission win over Sage Northcutt in December – was aiming for an end-of-summer return.

Laprise, who hadn’t fought since a TKO win over Thibault Gouti at last August’s UFC on FOX 21, says he was “chomping at the bit” to return after recovering from injury. He was so ready, in fact, that the short one-month camp for Camozzi ended up not being a problem.

“I’m healthy now,” Laprise said. “And I’ll fight tomorrow if I get another fight again.”

More realistically, however, the plan is to take a week off and get back to the gym to prepare for that UFC 215 spot he’s got his sights on.

To hear from Laprise himself, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage UFC 213, check out the UFC Events section of the site.