UFC 203 — featuring CM Punk’s MMA debut — is finally, mercifully in the bag and it ended pretty much the way everyone expected it would: with CM Punk losing in spectacular fashion in just over two minutes. His humiliating loss is already so iconic that it’s even been immortalized in a WWE match.
CM Punk’s post-fight speech and post-UFC 203 press conference impressed upon fans that he was not giving up on his MMA journey, and although it took two years for him to make it into the Octagon, Punk did sign a multi-fight contract with the UFC. Still, after the event, UFC president Dana White confessed UFC might not be the best possible venue for the 0-1 Punk’s second pro bout.
“He probably shouldn’t have his next fight in the UFC. Just like I said with Brock [Lesnar], having your first fight in the UFC is tough. And you see, [like] tonight, even if it’s against a guy who’s [only] 2-0, [UFC] is a tough place to learn.”
Punk likely helped UFC 203 do a massive PPV number (or at the very least, a higher number than the average UFC PPV), but considering that almost no MMA fighter in the world goes straight to UFC with only two years of training and not a single pro fight to their name — and Punk had to get a special exemption from the Ohio State Athletic Commission because of his inexperience, let us not forget — then yeah, UFC should probably want him to wade into some other fights in some other promotions a bit before tossing him in there with the sharks again.
Sorry, people who take a whole bunch of enjoyment from watching Punk get humiliated. His next fight might not be quite as easy to track down.
