More than a year after officially signing with the UFC, we finally know who former WWE star CM Punk will fight in his MMA debut. Sort of. It's not easy as 1-2-3.
In an interview with TSN's Off the Record, UFC president Dana White confirmed that Mickey Gall (1-0), who won his pro debut last November and was featured on the new reality series, "Looking For A Fight", will make his debut on the UFC 196 Fight Pass preliminary card on February 6th. His opponent's name? Michael Jackson. (Quote via MMA Fighting)
"I'm bringing Mickey Gall in, and he's going to fight a kid named Michael Jackson," White said. "They're going to fight on the prelims, on February 6th on Fight Pass, and if he wins that fight, Mickey Gall will fight CM Punk. And CM Punk will be there at the fight to watch."
White never specified who Michael Jackson was, but an early search suggests it could be Michael "Blackjack" Jackson, who is 6-6 as an amateur and has never fought professionally (UPDATE: It is Mike "The Truth" Jackson, who can be seen in action here. This is his confirmation on Facebook.) Whatever the case, this is the path that Gall is taking towards a shot at CM Punk. According to White, if Gall loses to Jackson, then Michael will not fight CM Punk. So the objective for Gall is purely to win, whether it's a thriller, bad, or off the wall. One can easily envision Jackson trying to shake Gall's body down to the ground. A loss would clearly send Gall into a state of shock, but I doubt he'll blame a losing performance on the boogie.
Be sure to get on Fight Pass on February 6th, and remember the time is 6 PM ET/3 PM PT, because Gall and Jackson are gonna be startin' somethin'. Will you be watching? If not, then abandon this post and beat it, because I'll be there.
Get the latest gear
