Written by Damon Martin at FoxSports.com
As Mickey Gall prepares to meet Mike Jackson at UFC Fight Night on Saturday, CM Punk is anxiously awaiting the outcome because that means he’s one step closer to finally making his UFC debut.
The one-time WWE superstar has been learning mixed martial arts under head coach Duke Roufus for over a year now in anticipation of making his first appearance inside the Octagon.
Punk has been promised that if Gall is victorious, that will be his first opponent at an event later this year — likely UFC 199 in June or UFC 200 in July. Punk admits he doesn’t know much about Gall yet, but he will be sitting cage side in Las Vegas on Saturday night to not only watch his potential opponent, but study his tendencies in action.
“I saw the one fight, I know he trains with good guys and he seems like a good kid,” Punk told FOX Sports. “We’ll hopefully try to dig up more footage on him as time goes on. He’s a well-rounded guy but I think it’s one of those things where we’re not going to so much worry about everything he’s good at and worry about myself and worry about everything that I’m good at.
“I’ll be studying for sure. I might even wear glasses.”
As much pressure as Punk has on his shoulders to show up and perform after all the hype from his signing with the UFC, he also knows there’s going to be a spotlight on Gall and Jackson like they’ve never seen before.
While both fighters are getting acclimated to the business of UFC promotion, stepping into the Octagon and fighting with millions of people watching from around the world and the thousands packed into an arena has folded veterans with 10 times the experience of Gall or Jackson.
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