Preview: UFC 225 ‘Whittaker vs. Romero 2’

Welterweights:
Phil Brooks (0-1) vs. Mike Jackson (0-1)
Odds: Jackson (-225), Brooks (+185)

What do you even say about this fight in a space like this? Both men got absolutely dummied in their only pro fights, both by Mickey Gall. Gall is a fine prospect with a BJJ brown belt, but he’s a low-level UFC talent at this point. It was enough for him, though, to have the little experience that he did, not to mention a significant age advantage on both men.

It’s hard to say which debut was more ignominious. Jackson has an amateur kickboxing background, but he was reluctant to give Gall chances to close the distance, so he circled tentatively on the outside. Gall closed the distance quickly, dropped Jackson with an overhand, pounced, and had the choke cinched up a moment later. Jackson failed to mount any effective offense whatsoever.

To his credit, “CM Punk” tried to mount offense. But he failed miserably. He came charging out of the gate, pressing forward and throwing a right hand as soon as he was in range. Gall ducked under for a comically easy takedown, and the despondent look on Punk’s face confirmed the outcome was decided at that point, mere seconds in. He resisted the prospect’s advances for two minutes but eventually and inevitably succumbed to the choke as well.

This fight comes down to two facts for me. First, Brooks left professional wrestling because his body was too shopworn to carry on. Now 39, any hope of making headway as a professional fighter is null and void. Second, Jackson is six years his junior, but more importantly, has at least some prior combat sports experience. This is not a Brock Lesnar situation in which the inexperienced entertainer has legitimate athletic accolades to his name and off-the-charts athleticism. This is a physically compromised amateur fighting a younger, slightly more experienced amateur. Jackson wins by second-round TKO in an embarrassingly low-level fight that will hopefully end the “CM Punk” - UFC circus.

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