The beating that Mickey Gall put on CM Punk at UFC 203 may have had a little extra sauce on it.
Gall appeared on The MMA Hour on Monday to talk about his highly publicized victory over Punk, a former WWE champion competing in MMA for the first time on Saturday. The 24-year-old welterweight told Ariel Helwani that it was his duty to show Punk how different cage fighting is compared to professional wrestling.
"I 100 percent felt a strong obligation to make an example out of him," Gall said, according to MMA Fighting's Marc Raimondi. "I felt indebted to my sport, to the veterans of my sport - everyone in my sport - to go in there and dominate every second of this fight."
To say that Gall dominated his match with Punk is an understatement. Within seconds, Punk was planted on his back with Gall pounding away at him. Two minutes into the first round, the match was mercifully called off when Punk tapped out to a rear-naked choke.
As focused as Gall was on putting on a commanding performance, he believes all of the pressure was on Punk once the cage door was shut. Gall has been training in various martial arts since he was 13 years old and that experience made all the difference between wanting to fight and actually doing it.
"I kind of expected it," Gall said. "I had a feeling he was gonna feel like, 'I have something to prove, I'm a fighter. I'm gonna come in there and be a tough fighter.'
"Once I get in there, I let my training take over. I'm not thinking in there. He crossed the line in my head of how far he should be. I wanted to keep him at a certain range. When you come in that hot, I'm gonna take you down."
Post-fight, Gall called for a bout with Sage Northcutt, another UFC fighter who has been criticized for receiving undue attention relative to his accomplishments. While that fight may not materialize due to issues with Northcutt's health, whoever Gall gets next should be wary of their credibility being tested, as well as their skill.
