UFC on FOX 22 results: Mickey Gall taps Sage Northcutt, moves to 3-0 in UFC

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Mickey Gall had to eat to eat a punch or two to get the fight where he wanted it, but once he got Sage Northcutt on the mat, it was clear who had the advantage.

Even with blood trickling from his head, Gall (4-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) managed to get Northcutt (8-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) to the mat and slap on a rear-naked choke to force the finish at the 1:40 mark of Round 2, earning his third straight win in the UFC.

The welterweight bout co-headlined today’s UFC on FOX 22 event at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. It aired on FOX following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Not that it should have surprised anyone, but this was a fight that Gall wanted to move to the mat as soon as possible – and with good reason. Partly that was because, as became evident when the fight became a grappling match, he had a significant advantage over Northcutt when the action hit the mat.

The other reason was that, for as long as the fight stayed standing, Northcutt remained legitimately dangerous, as the blood on Gall’s head would attest to.

After easily taking Northcutt down in the first frame and then dominating him on the mat for most of the round, Gall was forced to stand and trade early in the second. That’s when Northcutt managed to open Gall up, clipping him with several sharp punches in the round’s first few exchanges.

But after a left hook from Gall put Northcutt on shaky legs, Gall seized the opportunity to move the fight back to the floor and take Northcutt’s back, quickly locking up a body triangle and looking for the rear-naked choke. Despite being unable to get his forearm under Northcutt’s chin, Gall still managed to force the tap within the first two minutes of the round, earning his second submission victory in three UFC fights.

With the win, Gall remains perfect as a professional, with all but one of his pro fights coming in the UFC. Northcutt has lost two of his last three, both via submission.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 22 results include:

• Mickey Gall def. Sage Northcutt via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:40
• Urijah Faber def. Brad Pickett via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26
• Alan Jouban def. Mike Perry via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
• Paul Craig def. Luis Henrique da Silva via submission (armbar) – Round 2, 1:59
• Mizuto Hirota def. Cole Miller via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
• Colby Covington def. Bryan Barberena via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Alex Morono def. James Moontasri via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Josh Emmett def. Scott Holtzman via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Leslie Smith def. Irene Aldana via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Eddie Wineland def. Takeya Mizugaki via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:04
• Hector Sandoval def. Fredy Serrano via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Sultan Aliev def. Bojan Velickovic via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 30-27)

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 22, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report from on site in Sacramento.)