Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has officially announced the return of CM Punk, as he is set up to face Mike Jackson at the upcoming UFC 225 pay-per-view (PPV) event in Chicago, Illinois on June 9, 2018.
While the fight was rumored for quite some time, though nothing is ever really official until UFC makes it so.
Punk will be stepping back into the Octagon a year and a half after making his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut, losing to Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in September of 2016 via first-round submission (see it). After taking plenty of time to himself to regroup and improve, the former WWE Superstar is ready to prove his worth inside the Octagon.
In his way is fellow UFC novice Mike Jackson, who also came up short in his Octagon debut against Gall in 2016 in his first and only fight inside the eight-walled cage. Jackson has been calling for a showdown against Punk for quite sometime, so now it’s time to back up his words.
With a win, Punk will likely secure himself a future inside the Octagon, though a loss will likely put an end to his UFC career. As for Jackson, he could very well be in the same boat, so it’s a must-win for both parties.
Headlining UFC 225 will be a championship rematch that will see Robert Whittaker defend his Middleweight title against Yoel Romero, while Colby Covington and Rafael dos Anjos will collide in the co-main event for the interim Welterweight strap.
Also, Holly Holm will make her return to face off against Invicta FC import Megan Anderson.