In a battle of two “Dana White: Lookin’ For A Fight” veterans, Mickey Gall emerged victorious.
Gall, best known for demolishing CM Punk in the former professional wrestler’s mixed martial arts debut at UFC 203 this past September, picked up the biggest win of his career — and arguably the first meaningful win of his career — against rising star Sage Northcutt.
Gall vs. Northcutt served as the co-main event of UFC on FOX 22, which marked the organization’s return to Sacramento, California. on Saturday evening. Gall had lots of success on the mat against “Super,” who has shown holes in his grappling game in previous fights. Gall showed that he needs work on the feet, although he definitely has power in his hands, as he was able to knock Northcutt down in the second round, not long before tapping him out. That said, Gall, only 24 years old, will improve with time, especially considering he’s getting more and more work in with Firas Zahabi at TriStar, one of the best MMA gyms in the world.
Northcutt had his moments on the feet; he seemed to tag Gall a couple of times throughout the affair, but it was Gall’s grappling that got him the win. He was too slick on the canvas for his opponent, and eventually sunk in a rear-naked choke in the second round for his third UFC victory.
What was the highlight of the fight?
Fans walked away impressed with Gall’s finishing ability on the ground and overall performance, but something stood out to me even more than the finish — Gall actually got Northcutt to slightly open up. The 20-year-old has said in interviews that he rarely — if ever — gets mad, but he was briefly talking to Gall inside the Octagon. Maybe we’ll see a new side of Northcutt in his next fight when he looks to rebound from Saturday’s loss — or maybe that’s just wishful thinking. But either way, I thought it was interesting to see Northcutt say not-so-nice things to an opponent probably for the first time in his UFC career.
All of that said, Gall’s submission finish was pretty slick, as well.
Where do these two go from here?
Gall is already known for his post-fight interviews, and he delivered in that area once again. Although, his interview was a bit stranger this time around than after his win over Punk. Gall called out the retired Dan Hardy, who serves as a UFC commentator for European events, and revealed plans of dropping down to the lightweight division. Gall has been able to call his shots for the entirety of his tenure inside the Octagon thus far, but a fight with Hardy seems to be quite unlikely at this time. Hardy has talked about coming back for another fight for years, but that’s the key — Hardy has hinted at a return for years. If he really wanted to come back, he probably would have had a fight by now. So Gall probably won’t get the Hardy fight, but I give him props for saying a name — a big one, for that matter.
It’s time to go back to the drawing board for Northcutt. He clearly has lots of potential; he’s big, strong, very athletic, and has a solid striking game. He needs work on the mat, for sure, and should think about finding a higher-level gym to train at full-time. At only 20 years old, the sky is likely still the limit for Northcutt, he just needs to sit down and make some career decisions and changes — if he does, I still see him having success in the future. I’m not writing him off yet, despite having two fairly recent losses on his record.
Watch now, later, or never?
Gall vs. Northcutt was very enjoyable and a somewhat back-and-forth contest. Watch it right away if you haven’t already.