It’s been ten months since former WWE superstar CM Punk retired from pro wrestling and there are people that believe that Punk is getting the itch to be back in the spotlight. However, Punk’s return to the spotlight may not be in a wrestling ring with WWE or any other wrestling promotion, but it could be inside the cage for Bellator MMA.
Back in January, just a few days before Punk walked out of WWE, Punk was asked by MMAFighting ‘s Ariel Helwani if he’d ever consider having at least one MMA fight after he was done with wresting. Punk answered Helwani’s question by saying the following.
“Honestly, there’s going to be a lot of people out there that say that I can’t do it. Great! To me that’s the number one reason to do something. That’s the reason I’m here right now and you’re standing in my house, that I paid for because a bunch of people thought that I couldn’t make it in the WWE. And I’ve been here almost 10 years now. I think that’s me in a nutshell. You tell me I can’t do something, you tell me that there’s a mountain over there that nobody has climbed it yet, I’m going to climb it. Whether I get to the summit or not is all based on my hard work and what I put into it. I’m 35. I’ve never competed like martial arts. So who’s to say if I would be any good or not? I really think that there’s a chance, but mainly I’m just saying that to read people talk s**t about me.”
New Bellator MMA president Scott Coker has taken many aspects of pro wrestling and used them in Bellator. Coker, who was previously the CEO of Strikeforce, badly wanted WWE superstar Batista to compete in the organization before they were purchased by Zuffa.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer was asked if Bellator MMA would make Punk an offer, and Meltzer noted that it’s a very interesting question to ask, and that it’s likely that Bellator would make Punk an offer in an attempt give them more exposure and make them legitimate competition for the UFC.
It’s very clear that Punk has been training extensively in MMA since he left WWE. In a recent video with the Gracies, Ryron and Rener, Punk broke down how Luke Rockhold pulled off a one-handed guillotine in his fight with Michael Bisping at UFC Fight Night 55 .
Back in 2008, Brock Lesnar signed with the UFC and became the biggest pay-per-view draw in the history of the company. If Bellator MMA makes CM Punk an offer, they’ll hope that Punk can do for them what Lesnar did for the UFC.
[Photo via Jason Merritt / Getty Images]