In an interview that was just posted by TMZ , UFC president Dana White said that he was interested in talking to CM Punk about bringing Punk into the UFC, but is unsure if Punk can actually fight.
“I don’t know if he can fight or anything like that. But sure, I wouldn’t mind talking to CM Punk.”
Punk left WWE back in January, and until recently, has stayed silent about his departure with WWE. Now, Punk’s future is uncertain. He claims that it’s likely that he’ll never go back to wrestling, but hasn’t ruled out fighting.
In Punk’s conversation with Colt Cabana on last week’s Art of Wrestling podcast, Punk claimed to have suffered multiple concussions while he was in WWE, and ultimately decided to leave WWE because of his health. So a career in fighting may not be something that Punk would be interested in. However, the occasional one-off, big money fight could be something that could get Punk’s attention.
On the subject of concussions, many believe that concussions in WWE contributed to Brock Lesnar not being able to take a punch while he was in UFC. We’ve seen the effects of multiple concussions to UFC fighters, most notably Chuck Liddell, who at the end of his career was getting knocked out by punches that he would have eaten years earlier. So Punk heading into the octagon already having suffered over a dozen concussions may not be the brightest idea.
There were rumors that UFC rival Bellator MMA would make an attempt at signing CM Punk, but as of today, those are just rumors.
Punk is a gigantic MMA fan, and has attended numerous MMA events while he was in WWE, and since he left WWE. It’s also no secret that since Punk has retired from WWE, he’s been doing extensive mixed martial arts training, possibly gearing up for a fight at some point in the future.
Dana White’s interest in talking to Punk about signing with the UFC likely is due to the fact that when White brought the then former WWE champion Brock Lesnar to the UFC in 2008, Lesnar became the biggest pay-per-view draw in the history of the UFC. So White is likely hoping that Punk can do the same.
Hardcore MMA fans will likely groan and roll their eyes if the UFC signs Punk, much like they did when the UFC signed Brock Lesnar in 2008. But there’s no doubt that if the UFC signs CM Punk, that Punk will definitely bring in a lot of fans, and could very well compete with Brock Lesnar’s pay-per-view numbers.
[Image via MMA Fighting ]