Gall Bashes ‘Regressing’ Perry Ahead Of UFC On ESPN 12

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Mickey Gall is entering one of the most high-profile bouts of his career tomorrow night (Sat., June 27, 2020) at UFC on ESPN 12 live on ESPN/ESPN+ from inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, as the welterweight fighter takes on knockout artist Mike Perry in the co-main event.

After starting off his UFC career with a 3-0 record, including his submission win over CM Punk back in 2016, Gall has alternated wins and losses over his last four Octagon appearances. In order to finally break out at 170 pounds the New Jersey native must start taking out recognizable foe.

It all starts with Perry this weekend at UFC on ESPN 12. It’s a matchup that Gall is extremely confident for as he doesn’t believe “Platinum” is a fighter on the rise.

“I’m going to be prepared for the best Mike Perry, but if I really think about it, I think he’s been regressing,” said Gall during UFC on ESPN 12’s media day. “I know I’m getting a lot better and I think he’s on a downward slide, but I’ve been training hard, I’m peaking, and I’m ready for the best Mike Perry that’s ever been.”

Gall, 28, has faced some promising young athletes in his career, such as Sage Northcutt and Randy Brown, but he doesn’t believe Perry warrants the same cause for concern. That’s because Gall doesn’t see any sort of evolution when watching tape on Perry. “Platinum” may have some of the best punching power in the division, but Gall doesn’t seem too impressed with anything else.

“In my film study you can see that (he’s regressing),” Gall explained. “I think Mike is probably an insecure dude, probably had a tough life coming up. I don’t know if he’s handling everything super well right now, but again, who knows. I don’t even want to speculate too much because it doesn’t matter. I know the hand I got, I know what I bring to the table, and I’m super, super confident.”

While Gall has been linked to CM Punk for a good portion of his UFC career the rising welterweight prospect is ready to turn the page and enter the mix as a true contender at 170 pounds. Gall has been hoping to land a bout opposite Perry for quite some time in order to prove his divisional worth so it’s exciting to see the matchup finally come to fruition.

“Man it’s about time,” said Gall. “I’ve mentioned this fight to Sean Shelby (UFC matchmaker) for over a year. We love the fight, we love the fight, and now that it’s finally come to fruition, we’re happy.

“We got to work because I had a feeling this would be coming. I’ve been preparing, you can ask people I’ve said, ‘I bet I’ll fight this dude in the next year,’ and I said that like a year ago. I’m just happy it’s happening, and like I said, I am a low-key fan of him. He brings it and that’s exactly what I want. I know my hand, we pretty much know his hand, and I’m ready to lay the hand down and let the chips roll.”

MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on ESPN 12 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the ESPN/ESPN+ “Prelims” undercard bouts at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the ESPN/ESPN+ main card start time at 8 p.m. ET.

For complete UFC on ESPN 12 fight card news click here.