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What's the story?
CM Punk fans look away! You may not like this or you may, depending on whether you want him back in the WWE or not. Nonetheless, Dana White addressed the rumors of CM Punk's return to the Octagon on last night's Fox Sports 1 show, UFC Tonight.
The UFC head honcho shot down reports of his return being slated for UFC 225.
In case you didn't know...
Apart from the UFC 222 crisis, the MMA dirt sheets have been dominated by CM Punk and his impending future with the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world.
Reports suggested that UFC had planned on booking Punk in his hometown Chicago at UFC 225 against Mike Jackson.
Mike Jackson was one of the original contenders to face the former WWE Superstar in his debut MMA bout. Sadly for the 32-year-old Houston native, he lost his first and only UFC fight against Mickey Gall and was subsequently released from the company.
The heart of the matter
Holding a record of 0-1 and a similar skill level as Punk, Jackson was said to be the perfect opponent for the longest reigning WWE Champion on his comeback. Dana White, though, does not want the fans to get all too excited just yet.
“I don’t know. I don’t know that’s where he’ll fight. He’s healthy now and interested in fighting. We’ll see what happens. There is no deal for CM Punk to fight anywhere, so we’ll see how that thing plays out.”
What's next?
Jackson vs Punk makes sense on paper as both men lost to Gall in 45 and 14 seconds respectively. A match between an ordinary jobber vs a glorified jobber in Chicago on June 9th doesn't sound all that bad.
Also, Punk stands a good chance of notching up the first win of his career against Jackson, who previously claimed he was not UFC caliber. The former kickboxer even cut a pro wrestling styled promo in his bid to land a lucrative match against the Cult of Personality.
Author's take
Just come back to the WWE already! While Punk needs to be given props for taking a cue from one of his greatest rivals in John Cena by not giving up, at 39 years old, succeeding in MMA too daunting a task.
However, seeing Punk get a win inside the Octagon would not only make his fans but the entire WWE Universe happy.
