CM Punk lived his dream this previous Saturday evening when he lastly obtained the chance to headline WrestleMania 41 however it wasn’t that way back when the WWE celebrity was dwelling out one other fantasy when he signed with the UFC.
His transient stint within the UFC truly got here after Punk had a really public falling out when he left WWE and determined to attempt his hand at combined martial arts as an alternative. The signing was met with an entire lot of backlash and the outcomes didn’t go significantly better with Punk finally shedding each of his fights within the UFC together with his debut in opposition to Mickey Gall, which barely made it to the 2 minute mark of the opening spherical.
As of late, Punk appears to have fallen again in love with skilled wrestling once more however UFC legend Matt Brown nonetheless marvels that the promotion truly gave him a shot primarily based solely on his fandom reasonably than any precise confirmed abilities.
“The factor with the Punk factor, it wasn’t a lot Punk,” Brown defined on the most recent episode of The Fighter vs. The Author. “Lots of people dream about preventing within the UFC. Simply the truth that the UFC let it occur, it’s like what are you guys doing? That is pointless. It’s not the PR transfer they thought it was, a minimum of in my view. Possibly I’m flawed. It did extra for Mickey Gall than anyone else. I really like Mickey. I’m good pals with Mickey so good for him. However I don’t suppose it did shit for the UFC.
“You’re not presupposed to get in there due to your fame or your recognition. You’re presupposed to be the baddest f*cking dude. As actual because it will get, proper?”
Gall truly needed to earn the struggle in opposition to Punk when he obtained his personal shot within the UFC after defeating Mike Jackson in equally dominant trend.
Whereas he was a relative unknown on the time, Gall was an skilled martial artist with a deep background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was solely 2-0 when he obtained booked for the struggle in opposition to Punk, which befell at UFC 203 in Cleveland again in 2016.
Brown recounts a dialog he truly had with Gall about that struggle as a result of although neither of them had a lot expertise heading into that matchup, Punk was finally an expert wrestler who was an MMA fan and fanatic.
“The factor that sucked, too, I talked with Mickey about it later. Like bro, it’s essential to have been nervous as f*ck for that struggle as a result of you’ll be able to’t lose to CM Punk,” Brown stated. “Plus he was 1-0. It was his second struggle within the UFC. Like strolling out within the UFC in your second struggle. Are you able to think about that? That’s so f*cking a lot stress.
“All of the media, the eye, the hype and also you’re preventing this dude that f*cking sucks. You’re the laughing inventory if you happen to get beat by this man.”
It labored out effectively for Gall, who dispatched Punk through submission within the first spherical and eight years later, he’s nonetheless competing within the UFC.
As for Punk, he by no means regretted that he took his shot at preventing within the UFC even when the outcomes didn’t go his manner. In his second struggle, Punk was dominated over three rounds by Mike Jackson however the outcome was finally overturned to a no-contest following Jackson testing constructive for marijuana.
Since Punk’s two appearances within the UFC, Dana White has successfully shot down another weekend warriors getting a shot at competing within the octagon irrespective of how a lot they may love the game.
WWE celebrity and part-time boxer Logan Paul even revealed that he truly reached out to White about probably competing within the UFC for a single struggle however by no means even obtained a response. He believed that Punk seemingly “f*cked it up” for anyone else from skilled wrestling who tried to observe an identical path to get into the UFC.
The truth that it occurred in any respect nonetheless shocks Brown however he believes Punk’s misfortune most likely satisfied the UFC that it was by no means a good suggestion within the first place.
“[The UFC] tried it as soon as and realized their lesson,” Brown stated. “They shouldn’t have finished it as soon as actually. However no matter. They did it. It’s over with.
“Like I stated, Mickey obtained one of the best finish of that stick. The deal labored out nice for him. I’m undecided how effectively it labored out for anybody else. Undoubtedly not CM Punk.”
