What the story?
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter was asked about CM Punk’s career in the UFC on his podcast. Meltzer said that one of the reasons Punk doesn’t have any opponents booked for future events is because the UFC isn’t offering him any.
In case you didn’t know...
Punk quit the WWE in 2014 and lambasted the company for stifling him creatively and not treating his health issues seriously. Punk would eventually leave the WWE for UFC to pursue what he called a dream of his.
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Punk trained for two years and eventually had his first MMA fight at UFC 203 against Mickey Gall. Punk didn’t put up much offence against Gall and lost in the first round.
Punk’s latest venture is his appearance on MTV’s The Challenge: Champs vs. Pros where he and 9 other professional athletes will compete against 10 challenge champions from previous MTV shows in a series of obstacle courses.
Get ready for @ChallengeMTV champs to battle professional athletes on #ChampsVsPros this Tuesday! pic.twitter.com/sVcGYp5UP8
— MTV (@MTV) May 14, 2017
The heart of the matter
Meltzer claims that Punk has chosen to do the MTV show because the UFC have not offered him any new opponents. Meltzer went on to say that the best thing for Punk’s MMA career would probably be leaving UFC for Bellator as he is likely to find more suitable opponents there.
What’s next?
Punk has gone on record saying that he doesn’t know when his next fight will be but that he’ll continue to pursue his MMA career even if it doesn’t happen in the UFC. The following is what he told Fox Sports when asked about future competitors:
“I am working on it feverishly. I’m throwing names at Dana (White), opponents, dates. I don’t know if he’s waiting for a Chicago show or what the deal is but if it doesn’t happen in the UFC, it will happen somewhere else.”
Author’s take
Punk leaving the biggest professional wrestling company in the world for the biggest MMA company in the world definitely made some headlines, but it didn’t seem to make much sense.
Punk left a 16-year career as a professional wrestler and jumped headfirst into MMA without any extensive training in the sport. He had nothing to justify his entry into the UFC other than his name and the two years he spent training obviously weren’t enough to earn him a victory.
If Punk left UFC for Bellator, he could possibly have more success and that should be something the former WWE Superstar is considering. Otherwise, he’ll probably be terminated by the UFC and be remembered as the wrestler who failed to rise to the challenge that MMA is.
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