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CM Punk finally gets first UFC opponent with Mickey Gall's submission win

LAS VEGAS – After months of speculation, there is finally a winner in the ‘who fights Phil ‘CM Punk’ Brooks’ sweepstakes.

CM Punk talks to Mickey Gall after Gall's submission win Saturday. (Credit: Dana White/Twitter)
CM Punk talks to Mickey Gall after Gall's submission win Saturday. (Credit: Dana White/Twitter)

Mickey Gall, a 24-year-old with just one prior professional fight, submitted Mike Jackson via rear-naked choke just 45 seconds into their showdown at Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. With the victory, Gall, who was featured on UFC President Dana White’s ‘Looking for a Fight’ reality show, is now in line to be the first person to fight the former WWE champion.

“Last time I was on the mic, I was talking about one guy,” said Gall after the fight. “CM Punk. [And] I’m still talking about CM Punk -- I want to be fed, I’m hungry -- feed me CM Punk, please!”

When asked about his game plan heading into the fight with Jackson, the victorious Gall kept it short and sweet: “Punch him as hard as I can in the face; like to punch faces and I like to choke people out, that’s what I like to do.”

Shortly after Gall’s speech, the man of the hour, Punk, entered the cage for what was a very cordial standoff. Smiles were exchanged, a handshake or two thrown around, and then some posing for pictures.

So, with that, Gall, the man with two fights, and Punk, the man with zero pro experience, are scheduled to meet a future date – presumably sometime in the summer.

Gall’s performance was short, so fans don’t have much to go off in anticipation of the upcoming CM Punk fight. But he did manage to drop Jackson with a nice punch to set up the rear-naked choke finish, and that’s 45 seconds more than fans have gotten to see from Punk.

Whether Punk vs. Gall happens in Chicago (Punk’s hometown) in early summer, at the historic UFC 200 in July, or some other event down the line, is anyone’s guess.

No longer an unknown, however, is who the UFC’s most discussed rookie will finally be facing. And that’s a relief to Punk, the UFC, and critical fans wondering if the former WWE star would ever actually try to fight inside the Octagon.