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What’s the story?
On a recent edition of FloCombat.com’s Top Turtle MMA podcast, Mike “The Truth” Jackson opened up on his rumoured UFC fight against CM Punk.
Apparently, Jackson is yet to receive any official documentation regarding the rumoured fight. Besides, Jackson also addressed the allure of a potential matchup with Punk.
In case you didn’t know…
CM Punk competed in the sport of professional wrestling from 1999-2014; performing for the WWE from 2005 until he stepped away from the sport in ‘14.
Meanwhile, Mike Jackson, who holds an Amateur MMA record of 0-1, made his pro-MMA debut against Mickey Gall in February of 2016, losing to the latter by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke).
Similarly, Punk made his MMA debut against the aforementioned Gall, in September of 2016, and lost by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke).
The heart of the matter
Mike Jackson has teased a fight with CM Punk for quite some time now, and experts believe that the UFC could book the matchup this year. Jackson spoke about the current status of his rumoured fight with Punk:
“No contract has been signed. I’m waiting to hear back from Phil and his camp…I’ve spoken to Mick Maynard, who is a close personal friend of mine as well as the UFC matchmaker, and he kind of doesn’t know what’s going on at this time with (CM) Punk.”
“(CM Punk is) really getting a crash course, and I feel that, unless you’re some crazy prodigy, like a young B.J. Penn, the chances of you picking up different facets of the game to compete with someone—even on my level—it’s very slim.”
Furthermore, Jackson explained that Punk’s chances of defeating him or anyone in the UFC for that matter are incredibly low, as the latter is almost 40 years old, and carries significant wear & tear from several years of pro-wrestling competition.
What’s next?
The vast majority of MMA experts believe that Phil “CM Punk” Brooks will fight Mike Jackson at UFC 225 which takes place in Punk’s hometown of Chicago, Illinois on June 9th.
Besides, Punk recently trolled the professional wrestling community, by teasing an appearance at the Cody Rhodes/Young Bucks-sponsored “All In” event that takes place on September 1st.
Author’s take
CM Punk is indeed playing with fire when it comes to his UFC aspirations.
Punk doesn’t possess the elite amateur wrestling credentials as say someone like Brock Lesnar or Bobby Lashley, which in turn makes it tough for the former to adjust to the sport-specific dynamics in MMA. Regardless, here’s hoping Punk achieves his dreams on his MMA odyssey.
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