Athletes
Mickey Gall: Fatherhood And Fighting
Welterweight Mickey Gall Returns To The Octagon This Saturday At UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic Against Ramiz Brahimaj
“It’s definitely a whole new world,” said new dad Mickey Gall, who welcomed daughter Sainty into the universe with wife Kimberly in September.
That kind of whirlwind can throw anybody’s life into upheaval, especially someone who is getting into a fistfight with Ramiz Brahimaj this Saturday in Madison Square Garden. But Gall is loving every minute of his new reality.
“I'm going to enjoy this time,” he said as Sainty sat with dad like a champ during the interview. “That's what everybody's advice has been. Just enjoy this part, enjoy that part. Because things change. It's not going to be this way all the time. I'll sometimes get smiles, but I can't wait to walk in the door and light her face up and make her laugh and stuff like that. But, at the same time, I'm just enjoying this. I'm enjoying her little nine-pound self.”
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That little face will change a man and his view of the world.
“I love it,” Gall agrees. “I'd say it changes your view of everything a little bit. I've noticed I don't got time for the bulls**t anymore. I think it's made me more focused and maybe even a little more intense at times. And then I'm a big softie when I get home.”
That’s what you want to hear, because at this point in his pro career, the 32-year-old can’t afford to take his foot off the gas. In fact, after three consecutive losses, he’s got to put the pedal down against Brahimaj because he needs a win, not just for himself, but for the new mouth to feed at home. Not to mention the reality that those diapers don’t by themselves.
Gall doesn’t sound stressed, though. There’s too much good stuff going on at home for that. But he is prepared for the questions that will inevitably come about his back being against the wall. And he’s not bothered by them, simply because he knows that in his business, this is how it goes when you lose a couple fights.
UFC 309 COUNTDOWN: Full Episode | Jones vs Miocic | Oliveira vs Chandler 2
“There's no job security,” he admits. “But my fights are always fun, so I'm going to just keep being me and I'm going to try and be cleaner and be more dominant. I'm going to stay violent and be chasing finishes.”
So nothing has changed in the mindset of the man who made his UFC debut in 2016 after just one pro fight. He’s still here, nearly nine years later, so he must be doing something right, and through all the bumps in the road, when his name is called, he shows up to fight, not dance. And he’s bringing that same attitude to the Big Apple this weekend, confident that he’s done the work to get the job done.
“It's reflected in my training,” said Gall, who returned from a two-year layoff in June to battle three rounds with Bassil Hafez before losing a decision. “I've always been able to give the best guys in the world a hard time. And I've been beating those guys up for years and I'm doing it and I'm doing it better and cleaner and more effectively. So, yeah, it does feel a little like my back's getting close to that wall, but I know who I am and what I'm capable of, so I just want to put that into play and be present, be in the moment, see everything, do my thing, and just be as effective as I know I can be.”
Mickey Gall Secures The Rear Naked Choke | UFC FIGHT NIGHT: SANDHAGEN VS DILLASHAW
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Mickey Gall Secures The Rear Naked Choke | UFC FIGHT NIGHT: SANDHAGEN VS DILLASHAW
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He also gets to do it less than an hour’s drive from where he grew up in Green Brook, New Jersey. That means the Gall contingent will be out in force in MSG to see him try to even up his Garden record to 1-1 after losing a decision to Randy Brown at UFC 217 in 2017.
“It’s always a little extra exciting,” he said of fighting in the world’s most famous arena. “It’s extra exciting for everybody. Especially since it's local, that makes it better. So yeah, it's exciting. You want to do your thing in the Mecca.”
MORE UFC 309: Main Event Preview | Oliveira vs Chandler Fighter Timeline
Add entertaining friends and family to the updated to-do list for Gall, but again, he seems unbothered by it all. And he has held it together throughout his training camp with the Kill Cliff FC gang in Florida, with the help of Kimberly and their family, of course.
“My wife's been great because she's been letting me put earplugs in my ears overnight so I get my sleep,” he said. “My mom came down and helped out. My mother-in-law was here for a week. My sister's around. Everybody's helping. And I would say, in a way, that’s probably a good thing, where you're not thinking about the fight too much. I caught myself being like, dude, I'm doing all my work and stuff, but then when I'm home, I'm not thinking about the guy (I’m fighting) all the time. Sometimes there's just more important things to think about. But I'm handling all my work at the gym, doing all my stuff, and then I come home and it's about my wife and the baby, and I like that it's peaceful. It's home.”
Look at that, the 24-year-old kid fighting CM Punk has grown up on us. And while titles and big fights are still on the list of goals, that list has gotten bigger.
“There's more of them,” he laughs. “There are different things that I didn't think about or worry about. Yeah, you want to be rich. But I want to get her good insurance, and I want her to have all the things she wants and just give her a good life. So I almost say there’s just more purpose and drive, and I don't know if those are cliches. I would imagine they are, but I'm feeling them.”
Saturday's Full Fight Card Preview
That’s good, and life is good. Any regrets, dad?
“As Frank Sinatra would say, too few to mention.”
UFC 309: Jones vs Miocic took place live from Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York on November 16, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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