Mickey Gall was the guy
Dana White hand-picked and he came through with the UFC president watching Saturday night.
Gall beat Mike Jackson by submission in just 45 seconds at
UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson in Las Vegas. Gall will now fight
CM Punk in the former WWE star's UFC debut later this year.
"Super impressive," White told Ariel Helwani in an interview on UFC Fight Pass. "I talked to the kid earlier tonight. So confident, so smooth, so relaxed. To come to the big show this early in his career is crazy. He went out and performed tonight.
"The kid was under tremendous pressure tonight and he came out and he delivered. I'm blown away by his performance tonight. I'm sure CM Punk is too."
Gall (2-0) landed a right hand, dropping Jackson, who was making his pro MMA debut. Then Gall, who hails from New Jersey, pounced on Jackson and put to work his solid jiu-jitsu. The 26-year-old cinched in a rear-naked choke quickly and Jackson tapped out. Jackson, an MMA media personality, had not fought in MMA since an amateur bout in 2012, but has pro boxing and kickboxing experience.
In the fall, White saw Gall fight for Ring of Combat in Philadelphia. Gall won and then, knowing White was in attendance, called out CM Punk. White loved it and gave him the opportunity to fight for that chance in the UFC.
"It's all about being the right guy in the right place at the right time," White said. "We're traveling around to all these shows. We're seeing a lot of interesting people that we normally wouldn't see if we weren't doing this. And Mickey Gall had it that night. Mickey Gall had it that night. Everybody has been calling out CM Punk, but that's the kid that I liked."
White said there is no official date yet for the Gall vs. Punk bout, but the UFC is still "looking at" UFC 199 in June. Punk told Helwani in an earlier interview that he was hoping he had enough "stroke" to get on
UFC 200.
"I know he does," White said of Punk's desire to be on the huge UFC event July 9 in Las Vegas. "Everybody wants 200. Everybody wants to fight at 200, but I can't put everybody on 200."
