The man who once welcomed CM Punk to the UFC, Mickey Gall, had a tough night at the office on Saturday as he was badly knocked out by promotional newcomer Mike Malott.
The 30-year-old looked calm, cool, and collected on the feet but ultimately fell face-first to the floor after catching a heavy left hand from his opponent in the first frame. Malott followed up with some ground strikes to secure a huge debut win at UFC 273.
Malott has received widespread praise and support post-fight for donating his $10,000 (£7,700) show money to a good cause.
The Team Alpha Male student has pledged to give the money to his coach Joey Rodriguez, whose daughter is tragically battling stage three lymphoma.
Jake Paul was one of the first high-profile people to react to Malott’s generosity and vowed to match the donation while also taking another swipe at UFC fighter pay
"Mike Malott congrats on the win. Count me and Boxing Bullies in for $10K. F*** cancer and f*** s****y fighter pay',” Paul wrote on social media.
Gall made an instant impact on the MMA world after making his debut in the sport as he immediately called out one of the biggest stars to ever cross over into the UFC.
In 2015, Gall picked up a quick submission win over Ron Templeton in his first fight before turning to Dana White and calling his shot.
The MMA newbie put himself forward as a potential opponent for WWE superstar CM Punk – Phil Brooks - who was due to make his UFC debut.
White liked the idea and signed Gall to the MMA leader.
Less than a year later he was standing in front of CM Punk on the main card of UFC 203.
Gall quickly ran through the professional wrestler, who was game but outgunned and ultimately submitted inside one round on the undercard of Stipe Miocic vs Alistair Overeem.
CM Punk went on to have one more fight in the UFC but was dominated by Mike Jackson, the man Gall beat in his second professional fight, over three rounds.
In 2021, Punk saw his second and final MMA loss overturned to a no-contest as Jackson tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol due to marijuana following the June 9, 2018, UFC event at the United Center in Chicago.
It seemed that Gall was the real deal when he stretched his perfect record to 4-0 by taking out fellow prospect Sage Northcutt. However, since then, he’s struggled for form and suffered five defeats in his last eight fights.
Gall was first beaten by Randy Brown in 2017 and since then defeats have started to pile up for the once-promising prospect.
Diego Sanchez and Mike Perry also beat Gall, who until recently had been able to pick up wins immediately after his losses.
The up-and-comer now faces an uncertain future after suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his career.
Gall dropped to a unanimous decision loss to Alex Morono in December before last night’s defeat in Jacksonville, Florida.
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