CM Punk lived his dream last Saturday night. He finally got the opportunity to headline WrestleMania 41, but it wasn’t long ago that the WWE Superstar was living another fantasy when he signed with the UFC.
His brief stint at the UFC actually came after the very masses fell when Punk left WWE and decided to try his hand in mixed martial arts instead. The signature was filled with so much backlash, and Punk eventually lost both of his fights in the UFC, and that wasn’t that good, including his debut with Mickey Gal.
It appears that Punk has fallen in love with wrestling again recently, but UFC legend Matt Brown is still amazed that the promotion gave him a shot based solely on his fandom, rather than actually proven skills.
“It wasn’t that punk,” Brown explained in his latest episode. Fighter jet vs. writer. “I dream of fighting in the UFC. The fact that the UFC made it happen, is that what you guys are doing? This is not necessary. I thought it was wrong, at least in my opinion. I did more than anyone else for Mickey Gal. I love Mickey.
“You are not expected to get in there due to your fame or popularity. You should be the worst f*cking dude.
Gar had to actually win a battle with Punk when he scored his own shot in the UFC after defeating Mike Jackson in a similarly dominant way.
Although he was relatively unknown at the time, Gar was an experienced martial artist with a deep background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He was only 2-0 when he was booked for the fight against Punk at UFC 203 in Cleveland in 2016.
Brown tells him about his conversation with Gall about the fight. Even though neither of them had much experience heading into that matchup, Punk was ultimately a professional wrestler who was a fan and enthusiast for MMA.
“I also talked to Mickey later on, and like Bro, I couldn’t lose to CM Punk, so I’m sure I was nervous as f*ck because of that fight,” Brown said. “And that’s 1-0. It was his second fight in the UFC. It’s like going out to the UFC in your second fight. Can you imagine that? It puts so much pressure.
“All the media, attention, hype, and you are fighting this guy.
That worked well for Gar, who submitted the punks to the first round and eight years later, sending them, but he’s still competing in the UFC.
As for Punk, he never regretted taking his shot in a fight in the UFC, even if the outcome didn’t go down his path. In his second fight, Punk was dominated by Mike Jackson for three rounds, but the results were not ultimately reversed following the test for Jackson, where marijuana is positive.
Since Punk’s appearance in the UFC twice, Dana White has effectively shot down other weekend warriors who have won shots in the competition in the Octagon, no matter how much they love the sport.
WWE superstar and part-time boxer Logan Paul revealed that he actually reached out to White about the possibility of competing in the UFC for one fight. He believed that Punk was “f*cked ited” for others in wrestling who tried to follow a similar path to enter the UFC.
The fact that it happened at all still shocks the brown, but he believes that Punk’s misfortune has convinced the UFC that it was probably not a good idea to begin with.
“The (UFC) tried it once and learned their lesson,” Brown said. “They shouldn’t have done it once, but anything. They did it. It’s over.
“Like I said, Mickey got the best end of that stick. The deal worked for him. I don’t know how well it went for others. It’s definitely not a commercial punk.”