Chad Laprise Explains Why He Called Out Mickey Gall

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Chad Laprise (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) spoke about why he called out Mickey Gall following his third-round TKO of Brian Camozzi at UFC 213. Here are highlights:

On his take on Mickey Gall: “He’s just been spoon-fed. He was on (the ‘Dana White: Lookin’ for a Fight’) show. I had to work my way here. I went through ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ I won ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ This is my seventh fight in the UFC now. I fought all tough guys. Mickey Gall fought C.M. Punk and a reporter (Mike Jackson) who’d never had a fight in his life. I want to give him a test to fight a real guy. I have no disrespect against him – good on the kid. But come fight me and things will be different.”

On fighting Gall: “Obviously, getting Mickey Gall is a long shot. Everybody wants to fight Mickey Gall. He’s one of the easiest guys, who has the biggest name. He’s not UFC level. He can beat lower-ranked guys. He’s OK. I’m sure he has decent jiu-jitsu. But he’s not a guy like me-level. He’s not a lot of guys that are in the welterweight division-level. Obviously, I’m not someone who wants to trash talk. I’m just saying, facts are facts.”

On UFC 215: “I am fighting there. It’s not confirmed, but I was barking at (UFC matchmaker) Sean Shelby from the side of the cage. I was already getting ready for a fight in Edmonton before I took this fight. That was the fight I was planning on happening. I saw that Camozzi’s opponent got hurt, so I right away called Sean. I said, ‘Listen, Sean. I’ll step in and take fight.’ He said sure. So I said, ‘But I’ll fight in Edmonton after.’”