Mickey Gall Record: 7-7-0

The CM Punk fight and early surge

That bigger bout arrived in September 2016 at UFC 203, where Gall submitted former WWE star CM Punk by first-round rear-naked choke in one of the most-hyped spectacle fights the promotion had ever staged. He kept the momentum going in December 2016 at UFC on FOX 22, submitting prospect Sage Northcutt by second-round rear-naked choke to push his record to a perfect start and establish himself as a genuine grappling threat.

Ups and downs at welterweight

The competition stiffened from there. Gall dropped a unanimous decision to Randy Brown at UFC 217 in November 2017, then rebounded in August 2018 with a first-round rear-naked-choke finish of veteran George Sullivan. His career settled into a back-and-forth pattern: a 2019 TKO loss to the legendary Diego Sanchez was followed by a unanimous-decision win over Salim Touahri, and a 2020 decision loss to Mike Perry gave way to a first-round submission of Jordan Williams in July 2021.

Late-career losses

Gall’s final UFC stretch was a difficult one. He lost a decision to Alex Morono in December 2021, was stopped by Mike Malott via first-round TKO at UFC 273 in April 2022, dropped a decision to Bassil Hafez at UFC 302 in June 2024, and was knocked out by a first-round right hook from Ramiz Brahimaj at UFC 309 in November 2024.

Fighting style

Gall is a submission specialist whose game runs through his elite jiu-jitsu. Six of his seven wins come by submission – all rear-naked chokes – with one decision, an 86% finish rate that ranks among the highest in the division when he gets his hands on an opponent. His length and grappling let him hunt the back and lock up chokes from dominant positions. The flip side is on his record: all three of his stoppage losses came by knockout or TKO, exposing a striking and defensive-grappling gap against pressure punchers, while several decision defeats showed the difficulty of imposing his ground game on opponents who keep the fight standing.

Career highlights

• Submitted CM Punk at UFC 203 — choked out the former WWE star in the first round of one of the UFC’s biggest spectacle fights.
• Finished Sage Northcutt — submitted the hyped prospect by rear-naked choke to validate his grappling pedigree.
• Elite submission rate — six of seven career wins by rear-naked choke, reflecting a black-belt ground game under David Adiv.