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CM Punk made his return to the Octagon this Sunday at the UFC 225 event in his hometown Illinois, Chicago. This is the first time he competed after making his debut at UFC 203 against Mickey Gall in September 2016.
Punk lost his second Professional MMA bout against Mike Jackson via a three-round unanimous decision, which was a much better accomplishment than his fight against Mickey Gall, which ended in the second minute of the very first round via a rear naked choke.
Experts say that Punks opponent Jackson is one of the least skilled fighters to ever have competed inside the octagon. Which speaks volumes about the former WWE superstar's skill level.
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I mean, I’ll praise anyone who has the heart to train hard and put their life and reputation on the line to go into the octagon. That takes a serious commitment.
For a super rich celebrity, whose brand is built around the image of him as a badass, to do that? Endless props, Punk has some serious heart and fortitude.
There's no question that CM Punk has the mentality and toughness of a UFC fighter. He just started way too late to compete against lifelong martial arts practitioners.
This list aims to explore the next move in CM Punk's career by analyzing the following factors.
# How good was his opponent?
Mike Jackson's MMA record is virtually identical to that of Punks, the only opponent he faced before was Mickey Gall, who defeated him in the first round via submission. But this doesn't prove that he and Punk are on the same level.
Mike appeared very relaxed while outclassing Punk in every aspect of the game. It really was weird how he was just resting in Punk's guard doing nothing. He showed he could really hit him when he wanted.
The UFC commentator Joe Rogan jokingly put on his conspiracy theory during his commentary saying Mike was paid to carry Punk till the end. Can't blame Rogan for making these remarks, Mike just ran out the clock without any effort.
Mike Jackson has a history of competing in boxing and kickboxing prior to making a foray into MMA. He has competed as an amateur in MMA since 2008, fighting nine times. He has a 4-0 (4 KOs) record as a pro boxer and a 1-0 (1 KO) record as a pro kickboxer.
At 33 years of age, Mike is still in his physical prime and six years younger to Punk. He also possesses better knockout power than punk. Age and experience are cardinal factors in determining a fighters performance, and Mike clearly had upper hand here.
But wasn't CM Punk also training all this time? Then why did he look like a noob in the biggest fight of his life?
# Should Punk train harder? A skill analysis
I’m a big fan of CM Punk, but his skill level looked way below average inside the octagon. Can never blame a guy for trying but he’s nowhere close to a UFC level and maybe makes the cut as an amateur.
It is a well-known fact that Punk has been working on his striking for the past couple of years in Roufusport sports Academy under the watchful eyes of Duke Roufus. He is also a blue belt in BJJ under Daniel Wanderley.
Punk has a heart you can never doubt that but the heart isn’t always enough. His striking looked pathetic.
He was punching wildly, was out of gas in the first round. His leg kicks had an extra spin to it, which is an over-commitment to a missed kick and leaves you vulnerable against a takedown or strike.
Talking about his ground game, he didn't even look close to a BJJ Blue belt. In round two, Punk tried throwing punches from the bottom. It is pointless to throw punches from the bottom as it is against gravity and has no power in it.
He should have opted for a hip escape and looked for some other position. These are white belt 101 kinds of stuff and everyone is expected to know these. Only BJJ thing he did was an almost close figure four leg lock attempt at round three.
Summing up, Punk got outclassed, outstruck, outgrappled, and outcardio'd by his opponent who also happens to be an MMA journalist. I can’t fathom how Punk is still so bad after how long he’s been training full time.
So what's the story here? Has Roofus been not teaching him anything at all? Because he looked like someone with no training whatsoever, despite training full time for two years or more.
They let him go in there not just without the skills required to win but without the skill of defending himself. I think both they and the UFC need to answer serious questions.
# Dana White is not impressed
UFC President Dana White has been furious at himself for giving this bout between the (0-1) fighters the main card tag after watching the fight. The bout was largely mocked in the lead up to the event and they didn’t do anything to suggest they were worthy of a spot on a UFC pay-per-view main card.
At the post-fight press conference, Dana White stated that he thinks this was the last time fans would witness the 39-year-old Chicago native compete inside the UFC Octagon, and he believes that CM Punk should definitely call it a wrap.
Dana has done a lot for Punk in the lead up to this fight, including finding a substandard fighter and adding him to the UFC roster to make a fight for Punk.
He even faced criticism for making this bout the main event when former champs like Alister Overeem and Rashad Evans fought in the undercard.
All these were definitely not done out of love towards the former WWE superstar. Punk can sell PPV's and bring a lot of new eyeballs to the game which makes it more popular among casual fans.
A Punk win / Punk KO could have broken the internet and made big news on Twitter and ESPN. But his calculations failed as Mike Jackson slowly picked apart Punk and Dana's hopes of a potential cash cow faded.
Dana is a great promoter and a shrewd businessman, but even he has limits. It's unlikely that he takes the effort to promote this fight again and face so much criticism for doing so. Thus its pretty much sure that Punks UFC dreams are over unless Dana changes his mind.
# Bellator is calling
UFC fighters who cannot get along with Dana White has nothing much to do in that promotion. Dana is the ultimate authority in UFC. Usually, fighters leave to Bellator MMA and other promotions if they have any unresolved issues with the UFC's king Dana.
Bellator MMA has a history of harboring these exile fighters and efficiently marketing them. It has also proved itself by making big fights between washed up UFC fighters and former champions who came out of retirement.
So, CM Punk still has an option to pursue his MMA dreams, even if UFC denies him another fight. But the real issue here is, Bellator roster is filled with killers and can give Punk a very bad time if they squared off.
Again, Bellator can find a right dancing partner for Punk just like UFC and a promote the heck out of that fight and make it a big success. Or Punk can choose the right path to start an MMA career by starting to compete inside the amateur tournaments
By doing so, Punk gets to work the kinks out of his game plan and deal with the nerves. He can learn what aspects of the game he is good at and what his weak points are. But again, Punk is almost 40 and time really isn't in his favor.
Considering his age and health, the best scenario for CM Punk is to call it a day and make a return to Pro Wrestling, where he still has a huge fan base waiting for their champ to make a comeback.
# Pro Wrestling future?
It is clear from this read that CM Punks MMA experiment was a failure and has not much hope in the future. So the best case scenario for him is to return to where he actually belongs, i.e The Pro Wrestling world.
But Punk has made it clear that he does not intend to return to his old life and career. He has a lot of unfinished business in the WWE and can make a perfect comeback if he let the bygones be bygones.
Even better is to make a comeback during 'All In' which is taking place in his hometown Chicago. If 'All In' is a bit too early for Punk, he can take time and fit inside any of the top independent wrestling organizations across America or elsewhere.
While the doors to the Pro Wrestling world is open for Punk, he may choose to stick by what he said and remain in the MMA world and enjoy every bit of his growth process. In that case, he may make a return real soon.
Knowing Dana White, If the money is good, Punk may get another shot to fight for UFC against some other opponent in the future or a potential rematch against any of his old opponents.
Stranger things have occurred in sports history and more strange things will happen. Only time can tell us what CM Punk has up his sleeve. But nothing but respect for this legend, who pursued his dream against all odds.
