WWE star CM Punk made his pro MMA debut at UFC 203 back in 2016. Punks debut was shut down in the first round by Mickey Gall with a submission victory. Two years later, CM Punk made his return to the octagon where he faced Mike Jackson at UFC 225. The outcome was very much […]
WWE star CM Punk made his pro MMA debut at UFC 203 back in 2016. Punks debut was shut down in the first round by Mickey Gall with a submission victory.
Two years later, CM Punk made his return to the octagon where he faced Mike Jackson at UFC 225. The outcome was very much no different, whilst CM Punk was able to go the distance with Jackson he was once again outperformed. Leaving CM Punks MMA record 2-0 with a disappointed White insisting that this would be the last time we would see Punk in the UFC.
Even though he managed to make it out of the first round and go the distance, White had still been left unimpressed.
“He got clipped a lot in that fight, it looked like he was hurt bad a couple of times.”
“I love the guy. He’s the nicest guy in the world. We gave him two shots. He had a lot of heart tonight, yeah, I think he should call it a wrap” (H/T BJPenn.com)
Since the loss at UFC 225, CM Punk has found his record updated. MMAJunkie confirmed through a Freedom of Information Act request and confirmation that Punks loss to Jackson had since been overturned.
According to the report from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Jackson had tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol, a chemical found in marijuana. It has been confirmed that Jackson had been penalized however the news of the result being overturned had only been confirmed recently.
Official Statement Released:
“The official result of a full contact martial arts bout can be changed to a ‘No Contest’” if there is “an adverse post-bout disciplinary finding against a contestant”, Chris Slaby of the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation had told MMAJunkie this Wednesday. “As detailed in the consent order provided, Mr. Jackson tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol due to marijuana following the June 9, 2018 UFC event”. (H/T MMAJunkie)
Punk and Jackson have yet to fight in the UFC again. Whilst it is known that we may never see Punk fight again, Jackson had been scheduled to face Dean Barry this year, however that fight is yet to come to fruition.
Do you think this loss overturned will mean a potential return for CM?
CM Punk’s MMA debut happened to also be his UFC debut, and it wasn’t much of a surprise when he lost that fight to Mickey Gall back at September 2016’s UFC 203. Even though Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, took an absolute beating, the former WWE superstar wants another shot in the Octagon. […]
CM Punk’s MMA debut happened to also be his UFC debut, and it wasn’t much of a surprise when he lost that fight to Mickey Gall back at September 2016’s UFC 203.
Even though Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, took an absolute beating, the former WWE superstar wants another shot in the Octagon.
“I like that guy, he’s a good dude. He wants one more. He wants to get another shot. I’m going to give it to him. He’s a completely different case than most normal human beings, so I’m going to give him another shot.”
Punk made a slow transition from professional wrestling to mixed martial arts, training under Duke Rufus’ academy for a year and a half before his first fight was even announced. It turns out that a crash course in fighting isn’t enough to win on the world’s biggest stage, regardless of the 18 months Punk put in.
White refrained from getting into specifics like a potential opponent or a timeline, but one thing is for sure – CM Punk wants to fight again, and with White’s blessing, we’re going to see Punk fight in the UFC again.
Punk (0-1) is one of two high-profile WWE wrestlers to make the plunge into MMA. The other had a much more measured degree of success, even if it was short-lived in a sense. Brock Lesnar won the heavyweight title from Randy Couture back in 2008. Punk competes in the welterweight division.
Would you like to see CM Punk try his hand at MMA again? Who would be an ideal opponent, if there is one?
Many sports stars and athletes have tried their hands at mixed martial arts with varying degrees of success. For every Brock Lesnar, there’s 15 other crossover athletes who did not have such a smooth transition into the world’s most violent and dangerous sport. We here at LowKick MMA have compiled a solid list of 10 crossover […]
Many sports stars and athletes have tried their hands at mixed martial arts with varying degrees of success.
For every Brock Lesnar, there’s 15 other crossover athletes who did not have such a smooth transition into the world’s most violent and dangerous sport.
We here at LowKick MMA have compiled a solid list of 10 crossover sports stars who just couldn’t make it in mixed martial arts.
10. Jose Canseco
Jose Canseco had a long and storied career in baseball before trying his hand at mixed martial arts. The Cuban-American was a six time all-star and won two World Series championships with the Oakland Athletics in 1989 and New York Yankees in 2000 before a steroid scandal in 2005 tarnished his reputation as a professional athlete.
Four years after the steroid scandal, Canseco attempted a career in MMA. The former baseball star took on Korean giant Choi Hong-man at DREAM 9 back in 2009. It was the perfect freak-show fight for its’ Japanese audience, which was hosting DREAM’s Hulk Grand Prix.
Canseco, while a sturdy 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, was dwarfed by Choi, who weighed in at 320 pounds while standing at a massive 7-foot-2. Canseco tried to stay light on his feet, at times running from Choi to reset at the center of the ring, but the big man eventually caught up to him, forcing Canseco to tap to strikes at just 1:17 minutes into the first round.
“That’s a big man,” Canseco said of Choi at the time. “I ran into one of his left jabs and that almost knocked me out. You have no idea how scary it was facing a man that big.”
Canseco would never fight in mixed martial arts ever again, and if his performance against Choi is any indication, he probably never will again. However, he did participate in a celebrity boxing match with former child star Danny Bonaduce in a match that went to a draw.
But, with 462 home runs to his name and 17 seasons in the MLB, Canseco will be remembered as a baseball player rather than a fighter.
We’ve all watched a mixed martial arts fight where one fighter seemed outclassed from the moment the bout was scheduled. Whether that fighter is facing skill or size obstacles, they still show up and fight, even when faced with insurmountable odds against them. Take a look at the 10 biggest mismatches in MMA history: 10.
We’ve all watched a mixed martial arts fight where one fighter seemed outclassed from the moment the bout was scheduled.
Whether that fighter is facing skill or size obstacles, they still show up and fight, even when faced with insurmountable odds against them.
Take a look at the 10 biggest mismatches in MMA history:
10. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Zuluzinho
Anytime you have what might be the beast heavyweight mixed martial artist of all time in the ring, it may always seem a little lopsided.
That fact was no better demonstrated in his 36-second destruction of Brazilian behemoth Zuluzinho.
While Zulu was a formidable 6 foot 7 and over 400 pounds of human, his ridiculous size was not enough to overcome Fedor’s unbelievable win streak and skill-set.
A straight left hand planted the big man on his bottom. Fedor attacked with lightning quick instinct, and felled his foe before he was able to get to his feet from the very first punch landed.
With the dust finally settled on former WWE superstar Phillip ‘CM Punk’ Brooks’ long overdue UFC debut at Saturday’s UFC 203 from Cleveland, the results played out just how most seasoned MMA fans and media members predicted it to. Punk was thoroughly handled by inexperienced 2-0 prospect Mickey Gall, who took him down following a wild
With the dust finally settled on former WWE superstar Phillip ‘CM Punk’ Brooks’ long overdue UFC debut at Saturday’s UFC 203 from Cleveland, the results played out just how most seasoned MMA fans and media members predicted it to.
Punk was thoroughly handled by inexperienced 2-0 prospect Mickey Gall, who took him down following a wild early rush before softening him up with a brutal barrage of ground shots that opened a clear path for the inevitable rear-naked choke win in just two minutes and 14 seconds. That was probably to be expected; but what followed could have a much more lasting impact upon the sport of MMA, even if it should have been expected as well.
What happened was the Ohio Athletic Commission (OAC) released the fight purse numbers for UFC 203, and not surprisingly, the list showed that Punk took home an absolutely massive payday of $500,000 base salary for a man who never had a single MMA fight to his name. No, he didn’t take home the biggest purse, as that distinction went to heavyweight title challenger Alistair Overeem and his $800,000 disclosed purse for his thrilling knockout loss to champion Stipe Miocic, who also took home more than Punk with $600,000.
Many experienced MMA fighters immediately took to Twitter to voice their displeasure with Punk’s payday after seemingly having paid far from the dues they had sweat and bled for, and overall, the payday and the subsequent backlash was more or less a microcosm of the growing anti-establishment sentiment brewing about fighter pay and overall treatment in the UFC. In an era where name value essentially trumps actual rankings and skill, those who can drive up pay-per-view (PPV) numbers are absolutely paid more than those who win against top-ranked opponents but fail to draw big numbers.
Punk was certainly able to drive up sales based on his name value alone, as Forbes estimated that his place on UFC 203’s main card added millions of dollars in revenue to the card. In that sense, he earned every dollar of his $500,000 disclosed purse, and probably the rumored pay-per-view points he’ll receive based on sheer numbers alone.
He’s unique in that he was an inexperienced fighter coming from a totally different game of pro wrestling, but he undoubtedly brought a new fanbase with him, at least for that one night (Dana White has said we won’t see Punk in the UFC again).
However, the ‘money fight’ concept has proven to be a go-to one for the UFC this year, where they eschewed a single defense of the featherweight title for Conor McGregor in favor of having him match up with Nate Diaz a second time, and the box office results were potentially record-setting. It will happen again when aging legend Dan Henderson, who sits at No. 13 in the 185-pound ranks and hasn’t won back-to-back bouts in years, faces unlikely champion Michael Bisping in a sort of revenge bout at October 8’s UFC 204 from Manchester.
Like it or not, the formula has been bringing cash in for the UFC on regular basis, and in no small amounts.
There’s already been a growing numbers of fighters lashing out against their contracts in the months after the UFC’s momentous $4 billion sale to talent agency WME-IMG in the days after UFC 200, and Punk’s substantial payday for what many deem an embarrassing effort obviously only served to fuel that fire. The argument that fighters must build their own brand to become top-level pay-per-views draws in their own right is an obvious one, yet Punk earned the big payday they are all seeking without having to do any of that.
Punk deserves respect for having the proverbial guts to set foot into the Octagon; that much is no doubt true. But the fact also remains there was no way to not pay him the amount he had negotiated without alienating fighters who haven’t made as much in their entire careers as Punk did for getting trounced in less than half a round. The backlash was inevitable.
While it could be a case of sour grapes from an increasingly disenfranchised roster, the reality of it is that, coupled with the recent sale and Reebok sponsorships limitations, Punk’s payday has and will continue to galvanize a fighter base that’s only now finding out what they’re truly worth.
Do they have work to do to promote themselves? Yes, without a doubt. Yet that’s going to be hard to accomplish without at least some of the UFC’s promotional machine behind them. The only thing mid-ranked fighters, or event top-ranked competitors who aren’t household names, can do to get that is win a several consecutive fights spectacularly, and that involves a heavy amount of risk on their part.
True, that’s their job, but it’s a wholly unforgiving, brutal one that has no guarantee whatsoever of success, pay, or health after their insanely short window at or near the top is over. It’s simply time for fighters to be paid what they’re worth and treated fairly for putting their bodies on the line day in and day out for the sake of mere entertainment. Luke Rockhold and TJ Dillashaw have been speaking out for change lately, and it’s time for more UFC athletes to follow suit.
The issue of fighter pay has never been more at the forefront of MMA’s hottest topics, so it’s strange that a scenario like that involving Punk arose right when talk of a fighter’s union has been swirling more fervently than ever. Baseball super agent Jeff Borris recently founded a fighter’s association to hopefully create that union and introduce the Muhammad Ali Act into MMA, and while many have cried that he’s simply looking to cash in on an opportunity involving fighters, that’s just what the UFC has been doing for years. With most fighters focusing on themselves and their camps, the fact that they have failed to band together and unionize is a big part of why they are constantly complaining about their pay.
So at the end of the day, it’s time for the UFC to make some overarching changes for their fighters – the writing is on the wall, and it could easily be argued that it has been for years now. Fighters just haven’t noticed it as much until they compared their paycheck to the UFC sale that they helped create by risking their long-term health.
CM Punk’s massive payday only further brought that into question, and the UFC’s current roster of athletes fully has the right to be mad.
24-year-old Mickey Gall picked up the third victory of his professional mixed martial arts career at last weekend’s (September 10, 2016) UFC 203 by destroying former professional wrestler CM Punk in the very first round of their main card bout. During his post-fight interview with color commentator Joe Rogan, Gall said that he was interested
24-year-old Mickey Gall picked up the third victory of his professional mixed martial arts career at last weekend’s (September 10, 2016) UFC 203 by destroying former professional wrestler CM Punk in the very first round of their main card bout. During his post-fight interview with color commentator Joe Rogan, Gall said that he was interested in fighting ‘killers’ from now on, specifically calling out fellow young gun “Super” Sage Northcutt for a clash at November 12’s UFC 205 from Madison Square Garden in New York.
UFC President Dana White was quick to comment on the idea, saying that Northcutt’s team was also interested in the fight and that the UFC would make it happen, although that doesn’t seem to be the case as of now.
According to Jonathan Shrager, who recently spoke with Northcutt’s father, Mark, “Super Sage” was never approached regarding the potential scrap and he’s also currently dealing with a staph infection and will be unable to compete at UFC 205:
1/3
I’ve been in contact with Sage Northcutt’s dad, Mark, who informed me that “No one from UFC has called us yet about Mickey Gall fight”
Northcutt is coming off of a decision victory over Enrique Martin at July 9’s UFC 200, a win that extended his UFC record to 3-1. Prior to that, he had suffered a disappointing loss to Bryan Barberena last January. “Super Sage” has competed both at lightweight and welterweight, but as his father said, he’d be willing to meet Gall at 170-pounds when the time is right.
The bout certainly makes sense given the stage each fighter is at, but obviously Northcutt will need to return to full health before the two could sign on the dotted line.
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