CM Punk’s dream of becoming a UFC fighter turned into a bit of a nightmare when he stepped into the cage against the relatively green Mickey Gall and still got creamed in just over two minutes. For anyone else, that’d probably be a reality check moment, but Punk has continues to train with the intention of fighting in MMA professionally. The big question: would it be in the UFC or outside of it?
For a while UFC president Dana White sounded like he wasn’t too interested in letting the pro wrestler back into the Octagon, but in the leadup to UFC 220, he’s apparently had a change of heart.
“I like that guy. He’s a good dude,” White told the Associated Press. “He wants one more. He wants to get another shot. I’m going to give it to him … He’s a completely different case than most normal human beings, so I’m going to give him another shot.”
He is a rather unique case, in that he pulls in a lot of pay-per-view buys. His debut at UFC 203 sold the most PPVs of any card not involving Conor McGregor or Ronda Rousey that year, which undoubtedly plays a huge part in the promotion’s decision to let him get beat up in the Octagon once again.
As for an opponent, White says he’s “working on it,” and our big question is whether the UFC will match him up against another inexperienced fighter or if they’ll go full freakshow and match him up against Power Ranger Jason David Frank, radio jock Jason Ellis, or some other celebrity. That’s the kind of thing we only used to see in Japan, but since the UFC was bought by WME-IMG, all bets are off. Money talks, so anything feels possible these days.
