This Saturday night, at UFC 235 on ESPN, we’ll see a classic tale in the fight game of a legend vs. a strong up-and-comer. It’ll be the first fight of the prelims on ESPN starting at 8 PM. The fight is between legendary warrior Diego Sanchez vs. up-and-coming grappling stud Mickey Gall.
Diego Sanchez is a long-time fan favorite since his days of winning the first Ultimate Fighter. That’s right, I said the first! Way back in 2005, Diego Sanchez won the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter and hasn’t stopped since. His reputation will always be one of the toughest fighters the UFC has ever seen. You can’t have the conversation about who’s the toughest or who has the strongest warrior-mentality in the UFC without mentioning
His fights against Gilbert Melendez and Martin Kampman are just two examples of some of the best fights we’ve ever seen. With 15 years of fighting under his belt, his career is dwindling down. Every fight he has could be his last. Now he’s doing what a lot of UFC veterans do on their way out, and that’s giving young fighters a shot. Tonight, the fighter he gives that shot to is someone that everyone should have their eyes on, Mickey Gall.
Mickey Gall made his name in the UFC by being the fighter chosen to welcome CM Punk. Mickey had to beat Mike Jackson to get the shot at CM Punk on the main card at UFC 203. Gall ran through Jackson in just 45 seconds, winning via rare naked choke. He came into the CM Punk fight ready to repeat his performance and did just that. He finished him in 2:14 of the first round. Then, Gall made fans of everyone in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan when, instead of talking shit about CM Punk like everyone else, he went a different way.
I remember watching that interview and thinking “Wow, that’s awesome, that just made a fan out of me.” His talk about “Fuck the hate” and “We need to love more, we’re all gonna be dead in 100 years,” are two quick ways to get me on your side. Another quick way to get me on your side is to come to my house and hang out….which Mickey Gall has done! NO BIG DEAL!
Back in October, Mickey Gall was in Boston with a few other legends by the name of Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Joe Schilling, ever heard of them? Well, Cowboy put on his IG story that they were looking for places to watch Conor vs. Khabib. So, naturally, my boy and I started to DM them and dropped my address.
Without any notice, these monsters walked into my house like they were just another one of my friends coming to watch the fight. I couldn’t jump out of my seat fast enough to greet these fighters that I’ve watched for years just casually walking into my bedroom. Of course, I had to get them some of my dad’s roast beef he just made.
It was a hell of a time. The fighters couldn’t have been cooler guys and more down to earth. Mickey was wearing a Yankees hat that my mom made him take off. They came in, hung out for a bit, ate some food, drank some beers, and moved on their way to the next house. They were taking time out of their night to come show love to fans that were reaching out. There’s nothing cooler than that in my book. So, of course, my three favorite fighters now are Mickey Gall, Donald Cerrone, and Joe Schilling.
We got the whole family checking the clock every hour waiting for 8 PM to roll around and watch our favorite fighter,