Sage Northcutt vs. Mickey Gall Results: Winner, Reaction from UFC on Fox 22
In a battle of two of the UFC's most unique prospects, it was Mickey Gall who emerged victorious over Sage Northcutt in the co-main event of UFC on Fox 22. Gall defeated "Super" via second-round submission in the penultimate fight on the card.
MMAjunkie tweeted out the final result:
Gall went right to work looking to exploit Northcutt's weakness as a defensive grappler early on. The 24-year-old secured a takedown early and looked for submissions while showcasing superior grappling. Josh Gross of Bleacher Report noted Gall's skills on the ground:
We did see a different side of Northcutt, though, as the young prospect taunted Gall after getting back to his feet and landing some strikes:
The second round proved to be Gall's turn to show he has some power on the feet as well. A looping overhand right clipped Northcutt, sending him to the mat and once again giving Gall an opportunity to let his grappling shine.
That's when he secured the rear-naked choke that would hand him the victory. The UFC passed along the highlight of the punch that set up the finish:
After the win, the brash welterweight stated his intentions to drop to lightweight and potentially fight Dan Hardy in what would be Hardy's first fight since 2012:
It's hard to gauge Gall's potential just three fights into his UFC career. Very few fighters have risen to his level of popularity while facing such unproven commodities in the cage. In fact, the opportunity to prove himself against UFC talent was one of the reasons he asked for the fight.
"My first two opponents weren’t UFC-caliber guys," Gall said, per Adam Hill of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "But what I’m looking forward to is showing that I am a UFC-caliber guy, and I do that by beating UFC-caliber guys. We’re both relatively untested. That’s why I like this fight. Let’s go. Let’s test each other."
Gall's first break came when he was discovered on Dana White's Lookin' for a Fight and he took the opportunity to call out former WWE star CM Punk. White saw the young fighter with just one professional fight at the time as the perfect potential opponent for Punk.
After giving Gall the equivalent of a tuneup fight against Michael Jackson (not the King of Pop), he booked the fight between Punk and Gall at UFC 203 where Gall easily tapped Punk in the first round and used the stage to call out Northcutt.
It's clear Gall knows how to market himself.
He was wise to call out Punk which all but guaranteed massive exposure from the outset of his career. He was also wise to call out someone in Northcutt who is high on name recognition, but low in definitive, proven skills.
However, the formula of calling out big-name fighters with little experience can only last so long. Eventually he's going to have to prove his skills are truly those of a UFC star before launching himself into stardom.
