It doesn’t look like Phil Brooks, better known as CM Punk, will get another fight in the UFC anytime soon.
Punk, who made his UFC debut in September of last year, hasn’t been offered another fight by the organization, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter .
“[UFC] isn’t offering [CM Punk any fights]. He’s doing a reality show. So, that’s what he’s doing right now. He’s getting older. I don’t know what the situation is. If they’re not gonna offer him another fight, then they really should release him. But, if they release him, he’s going to Bellator, and he’ll be pushed in Bellator, and they’ll work really hard to give him a really bad opponent, so that he can win, or [he’ll] at least have a chance to win, because that’s how Bellator operates. So, I don’t think the UFC wants to hand him [to Bellator].”
As Meltzer mentioned, Punk is competing on a reality show called The Challenge , which had its season premiere on MTV last night.
Punk lost his UFC debut last September to Mickey Gall, who defeated the ex-WWE World Heavyweight Champion via submission in the very first round. Punk didn’t land a single strike in the fight, and by all accounts, he looked like he had no business being inside the Octagon.
Even if the UFC doesn’t offer him another fight, Punk is still focused on continuing his career as a mixed martial artist. So, if they do end up releasing him, don’t expect him to go back to WWE, or return to pro wrestling at all, as he’ll likely sign with a competing organization.
CM Punk will turn 39 this coming October, so he probably doesn’t have many fights left in him. He is still training at Roufusport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, so he’ll be ready if or when the UFC calls.
If he fights again in the UFC, there’s really only one potential opponent out there, and that’s Mike Jackson. Both Punk and Jackson lost to Gall via submission in the very first round, and they both have a professional MMA record of zero wins, and one loss. So, on paper at least, it looks like a fair match up.
Jackson has called CM Punk out on numerous occasions since his loss to Gall back in September, however, the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion hasn’t responded. So, it appears that he has no interest in fighting Jackson.
It took Punk nearly two years to make his UFC debut, as he signed with the organization back in December of 2014, and he debuted in September of 2016. During that time, many questioned if he would ever make his Octagon debut. But, after dealing with a series of injuries, Punk made the walk, and even though things didn’t go his way, he was able to silence a lot of his critics, who claimed that he would never make it through a full training camp without getting hurt.
Punk made over $1 million for his fight with Mickey Gall, which annoyed a lot of UFC veterans. Also, he made significantly more money than Gall did, even though he didn’t emerge as the winner.
The UFC typically likes to load their big July show up with their biggest stars, and even though he’s not an experienced mixed martial artist, CM Punk is one of their biggest stars. So, it’s very possible that he’ll be added to the company’s International Fight Week card in early-July, or perhaps the card in late-July, which will be headlined by the Light Heavyweight Championship fight between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.
[Featured Image by David Dermer/AP Images]