Mickey Gall might have had the home field advantage, but he had no easy go against Salim Touahri.
Gall (6-2 8-4, 5-2 UFC) stepped up on short notice and was forced to dig deep to win two of three scorecards against Touahri (10-4 MMA, 0-3 UFC).
The welterweight bout closed out the UFC on ESPN 5 preliminary card at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The event aired on ESPN.
The final scorecards were uanimously 29-28 for Gall, who got back to the win column after a disappointing loss to “The Ultimate Fighter 1” winner Diego Sanchez.
Gall gave props to his New Jersey crowd and called for a second go-around with Sanchez.
“Everyone knows I was sick,” said Gall, who reported suffering kidney failure prior to the Sanchez fight. “If Diego If he wants to humble me, I don’t think I got the message. Let’s run it back.”
Even with less time to train, Gall appeared to have more in the gas tank against Touahri. But the pace of the fight left both men running on fumes. Touahri worked the body over three rounds, prompting Gall to look for submissions as the two collided in center cage.
The difference for Gall was in his tenacity as the fight went into deep waters. When Touahri landed punches, he came right back and landed his own heavy shots. And when Touahri reversed his late takedown, he recovered and tricked his opponent into a last-second takedown.
Touahri remains winless in the octagon after losing originally scheduled opponent Zelim Imadaev.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 5 results include:
- Mickey Gall def. Salim Touahri via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Antonina Shevchenko def. Lucie Pudilova via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:20
- Matt Schnell def. Jordan Espinosa via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 1:23
- Lauren Murphy def. Mara Romero Borella via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:46
- Claudio Silva def. Cole Williams via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:35
- Miranda Granger def. Hannah Goldy via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
