NEWARK, N.J. – Mickey Gall is a New Jersey guy, and yet he’ll be competing for the first time on home soil at UFC on ESPN 5.
Gall (5-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) wasn’t initially scheduled to compete on the card, but jumped at the opportunity to fight Salim Touahri (10-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) four months after kidney failure turned a dream fight against Diego Sanchez into a nightmare.
From here on out, Gall wants to keep his career on the East Coast. That includes his training and his fights. If he’s successful against Touahri, he’ll push for a spot on UFC on ESPN 6 in Boston or UFC 244 in New York City.
Gall became famous for calling out marquee names like Phil “CM Punk” Brooks, Dan Hardy and Sage Northcutt. But these days, he’s just looking to stay busy.
“I used to think of it like this guy would be a good one for the career, then I take out this guy,” he said. “But I think what’s best for the career is fighting, getting experience. Every time I’m in there, I level up. I see more.
“The cage experience is a big factor, so I’m racking that up now.”
Nothing has changed about Gall’s preference for quick fights, which has led him to have the shortest average fight time among active UFC welterweights at just over five minutes.
The sooner he can get done with work, the sooner he can hang out with his Jersey family.
“I do like to go in there and merk people,” Gall said. “It’s fun to get in there and run through them in a minute. That could very well happen, but you can’t prepare for that.
“I think I take him out. I’m a finisher, and I’ll finish him.”
