“This fight it’s a high risk high reward, if I win, it really help my MMA career, it’ll be a lot of exposure and you know I get to keep move on with my dream of being in the UFC. If I lose I look like a freaking a–hole. Everyone treats [C.M. Punk] like a joke and I’m not going to make that mistake. I’m taking him very seriously.”
-Mickey Gall on UFC Unfilered.
Keller’s Analysis: The worst thing Mickey Gall could do is take Punk lightly. Normally, a fighter could rebound from taking a fight lightly with a couple of impressive wins afterward, but for Gall it would be embarrassing and, if he said he underestimated Punk, few would believe him or respect him for doing so. There’s literally no reason to believe with any certitude that Punk has a chance against Gall. There’s just no evidence. It’s possible Punk is a late discovered prodigy, of course, but it’s up to Gall to make the obvious likelihood a reality – that a 24 year old long-time MMA practitioner with two amateur wins and two professional wins by rear naked choke in the last two-and-a-half years can easily beat a 37 year old who is beat up from years of performing as a pro wrestler who just got into serious MMA training last year. If Punk doesn’t put up much of a fight before going down with a rear naked choke, I’m not even sure Mickey Gall gains much like he predicts he will, other than people know his name more than if he fought a prelim fight.
[Thanks to MMATorch contributor Robert Vallejos for the quote.]
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