Mickey Gall suddenly rose as a possible opponent for the yet-to-debut CM Punk after an impressive debut in the pro ranks recently.
Dana White was on hand to witness that and Gall took the opportunity to call out Punk for a possible match. The move, of course, surprised White a bit at first, although many felt that something was brewing. And as it turned out, White seems interested in making that fight possible, although Gall will have to satisfy a certain condition first.
Gall will get his shot at Punk on the condition that he wins at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 196. White has paired Gall off with Mike "The Truth" Jackson for the UFC event to be held on Feb. 6 where a win will fulfill his wish to face the former World Wresting Entertainment (WWE) champion. Jackson is a veteran from Legacy Fighting Championships and the said match will be his official debut in the UFC.
The fight will be done in the prelims, meaning that match will be on Fight Pass. According to White, Punk will be there to see how Gall fares.
Assuming that Gall defeats Jackson, it remains to be seen when that face-off will take place.
Fox Sports, however, hints that should Gall win, the showdown between him and Punk could likely take place at UFC 200 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on July 9.
That remains tentative for now, but the real focus right now is to see if Gall is as good as advertised. While Jackson has nothing more to gain than win his first UFC match, the pressure seems to be more on Gall.
While Gall has the utmost respect for Punk, a previous interview did quote him saying that he can finish off Punk in the first round.
Punk has not responded nor reacted to the plans for his UFC debut, so it will be interesting to see if he does release his own statement or brash talk in the coming weeks with regard to the UFC's plans for him.
