CM Punk stone faced in first official face off with Mickey Gall

By Damon Martin
Published

There's only two more days left until CM Punk is finally inaugurated into the fraternity of UFC fighters when he steps into the Octagon on Saturday night to face Mickey Gall.

Punk participated in the UFC 203 pre-fight press conference on Wednesday before the customary face off with Gall on stage in Cleveland.

Punk, who is going through his first-ever weight cut to get down to 170-pounds looked a little thinner than usual, but still in good spirits as the time ticks away until he finally gets the chance to fight this weekend.

Punk signed with the UFC in December 2014 and he's spent the last year and a half getting ready for this debut. He faces Gall — a 2-0 fighter who debuted in the UFC in February — in a featured fight on the UFC 203 main card on pay-per-view.

Punk answered the majority of the questions at the press conference as plenty of people are still curious about the former WWE superstar making the transition to MMA with no prior fight experience under his belt.

Punk sounded confident after a hard training camp working with coach Duke Roufus to prepare him for this moment and he's excited for the opportunity live his dream with a fight in the UFC.

"I'm going to do what I do, what my coaches have trained me to do," Punk said about the fight. "I train with Anthony Pettis, Eric Koch, Gerald Meerschaert, Mike 'Biggie' Rhodes, a litany of guys that are way better me so they have been sharpening my skills for months and months and months so I'm ready for Mickey."

For his part, Gall was enjoying the moment as well after being brought to the UFC specifically for this matchup with Punk after he was discovered by UFC president Dana White on his reality show "Looking for a Fight".

Gall tore through Mike Jackson back in February to officially earn the shot and he's currently a -400 favorite according to the odds makers to beat Punk on Saturday night.

"It's been fun," Gall said about the lead up to his fight with Punk. "I've really enjoyed the whole process. Pressure's not getting to me. I feel great."