The only thing we know about the future of former WWE World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk is that he intends to fight again. We don’t know when it’ll happen, and we don’t know where it’ll happen. All we know is that he wants to continue his mixed martial arts journey.
Back in September, Punk was absolutely destroyed by Mickey Gall in the first round. The fight ended via submission, and while Punk lasted longer than Gall’s first UFC opponent — Mike Jackson — he was clearly overmatched by the up-and-coming welterweight prospect.
On Monday’s Mixed Martial Arts Hour , host Ariel Helwani asked Gall about CM Punk’s future in MMA and whether he thinks the ex-WWE superstar can win if he gets another fight in the UFC. Before Gall answered the question, he commended Punk for having the guts to want to fight again, but he believes that the former professional wrestler won’t get a win if the UFC allows him to step inside the Octagon for a second time.
“I think he’ll be dealt with the same way I dealt him. If he fights a UFC caliber guy, I think they’ll do it in the same way. So I think in hindsight, he probably should’ve taken some regional fights, amateur fighters, smaller shows. But I think that’s ballsy of him to want to come back.”
As of this writing, the UFC hasn’t cut CM Punk, which has led many to believe that he’ll get another shot in the UFC and that the company will book him in a fight with Mike Jackson, who, as previously mentioned, also lost to Gall in the first round via submission.
Punk’s UFC debut did big business, as he added an estimated 100,000 extra buys to the UFC 203 show, which was headlined by the heavyweight championship fight between Alistair Overeem and Stipe Miocic. Likely, his drawing power, and not his talent, probably saved him from being cut and convinced the UFC to give him at least one more fight.
Also during his interview with Helwani, Gall said that he’s conflicted about someone like Punk — who is extremely green in the sport of mixed martial arts — getting another fight in the UFC. He admitted that from a business standpoint, it’s a good move. But, from a pure sport standpoint, it probably isn’t the best thing for the organization that’s widely recognized as the world’s biggest and best MMA promotion.
“I don’t know. I mean, he’s definitely going to help your pay-per-view and he brings that other audience. But for kinda the legitimacy of the sport, I think it may water it down a little bit.”
While we don’t know when or where CM Punk will fight next, we do know when Mickey Gall will fight again, as he’s getting ready to step into the Octagon with fellow up-and-comer Sage Northcutt at this weekend’s UFC on Fox 22 show. The fight will be third from the top, behind Urijah Faber vs. Brad Pickett and Paige VanZant vs. Michelle Waterson.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of draw Mickey Gall is coming off his win over CM Punk. Will the fans recognize him as the next superstar in the UFC’s welterweight division? That remains to be seen, and it greatly depends on whether or not he can get past Sage Northcutt on Saturday night.
Before the CM Punk fight, Gall said that he had someone in mind that he wanted to call out after his victory over the former WWE superstar, and that someone ended up being Sage Northcutt. Does he have someone else in mind after his fight with Sage? If he does, he hasn’t hinted at anything. However, he’s shown in the past that he understands how to promote his fights, so he probably will call someone out if he defeats “Super Sage” on Saturday.
[Featured Image by David Dermer/AP Images]