This isn’t breaking news, but professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are two very different things.
CM Punk had his second MMA fight of his career…and it was really, really bad.
Mike Jackson, a former Golden Gloves boxer and MMA journalist, handed Punk an embarrassing loss at UFC 225. Punk gassed out after the first two minutes of the fight. Jackson then spent the rest of the fight just playing with him. He could have finished Punk at any point, but it was almost as if he wanted to show the world how inept Punk was as a fighter. Punk was doing things BJJ white belts wouldn’t even do in practice. He was over-matched, completely gassed and was just getting his face beaten in.
Punk’s level of pugilistic skill reminded me of when Arnold Horshack from ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’ used to participate in celebrity boxing. I wish I was just being hyperbolic, but it is a just and fair comparison.
The UFC has been trying to justify having CM Punk on their roster since they signed him. He didn’t have any fighting experience and was just a guy who dabbled in BJJ by participating in some Gracie camps. He was just a name that had a track record of selling pay-per-view buys when he was in the WWE. They could use him to pop a PPV buyrate, but no one would give him any compliments other than ‘he had a lot of heart.’
Now that Jackson basically drained any future earning potential Punk had in MMA, it’s an easy decision for Dana White. They can drop Punk and forget any of this happened. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone didn’t give Jackson a head’s up that if he makes Punk look bad, a career in Zuffa Boxing is in his future. The fight was so bad that I doubt Bellator will have any interest in signing CM Punk, so there’s no risk of having him go to their only real competitor.
What should CM Punk do next?
I think he should just be happy, whatever that means to him. He has a beautiful wife, (former WWE Superstar A.J. Lee) and was recently found innocent in a defamation lawsuit brought against him by WWE physician Christopher Amann. That suit had been an ongoing issue for nearly four years.
Punk is only 39 years old and has talents that go beyond pro wrestling. He worked with Marvel Comics and can always spend his weekends signing autographs at conventions until he dies. He could even get back into his first profession since 39 isn’t exactly over-the-hill in pro wrestling. He’s younger than some of the top guys right now. AJ Styles is one of the best wrestlers in the world and Punk is a few months younger than him.
I wish CM Punk all the happiness in the world. I loved watching him wrestle over the years and think he is entertaining as hell…but I don’t want to see him in an octagon ever again.
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.