If Mickey Gall tangles with Sage Northcutt at least one person believe it will end up looking something like Gall's UFC 203 win over CM Punk.
"I think he goes to the ground with Sage and it's another dominant submission in the first round," Gall's trainer, Jim Miller, said on Monday's edition of The MMA Hour.
After Gall, in his third pro fight, utterly dismantled Punk before submitting him in just over two minutes on Saturday night, Gall called out Northcutt, his fellow "Lookin' for a Fight" standout. UFC president Dana White later indicated Northcutt's team reached out to him and indicated interest.
But while Miller, the popular longtime UFC lightweight from New Jersey, believes Northcutt will be a much tougher test for Gall than the ex-pro wrestler, he also believes the end result will be something similar.
"Obviously Sage is very dangerous on his feet, he's very unorthodox and can throw some crazy things," Miller said. "But I think it's a perfect matchup for Mickey, and it's like, yeah, do it. Take the fight and continue the momentum."
Much has been made about that fact the Punk was given the opportunity on a pay-per-view main card without any previous fighting experience. To a lesser degree, Gall has also caught some flak for getting so many breaks so early in his career.
But according to Miller, a fighter who has absolutely paid his dues in the business, those who train in his New Jersey gym understand the deal.
"The guys I've been around and he's been around that we've trained together mutually for years now, they all get it," Miller said. "They all know that this was somebody that, me personally, I would have been more active as a fighter coming up, he had a couple fights fall through and stuff like that. It's the Charlie and Chocolate Factory, you know? He called out CM Punk because Dana was there at his pro debut, and he gets the opportunity.
"It's just an opportunity and I'm happy to see someone as grounded and as good a person as Mickey to get it," Miller continued. "It could go to a guy like him, or it could go to someone who hasn't put the work in, hasn't been around the sport that long. I think everybody, even guys who are in the trenches and right there on the cusp and have nearly 20 fights and are ready to be in UFC at highest level, they understand some guys get the opportunity when they're young and that's the way it is. Everybody is supporting Mickey and hoping that he seized his opportunity."
A fresh round of outrage surfaced online Monday when it was revealed that Punk made a $500,000 fee for the fight with Gall, a number which does not include potential pay-per-view points. Miller, whose last publicly disclosed payday was $138,000 for his UFC 200 victory over Takanori Gomi ($59,000 to show, $59,000 to win, and a $20,000 Reebok payout), admitted a bit of jealousy, but ultimately took the news in stride.
"I'm jealous," Miller said with a laugh. "I'd like to be making that kind of money. I've been scratching and clawing my way to where I am right now. It's frustrating that I can have two dozen fights in the UFC and be in multiple Fight of the Nights and stuff like that and headline a few cards and not make that kind of money, not being able to provide as comfortable a life for my family as I'd like to if I was making that money. So it is frustrating, but it's just one of those things."
At the end of the day, Miller believes, it's what you do with the opportunity that counts. And while Gall made the most of it, Miller respects Punk for following through.
"[Punk is] on the other end of that opportunity, here's a guy he has a name for himself, he was the main event at Wrestlemania. He's got a name, he's got a following, on the part of hey, stepping up and doing it there are people that would do and it there are ones that wouldn't do it. He's one of the ones who actually made the walk and didn't throw up on his way to the cage. So I tip my hat to him."