What happened to CM Punk after he failed in UFC?

What happened to CM Punk after he failed in UFC?

CM Punk (Image Courtesy: UFC)

CM Punk also known as Phill Brooks is one of the most popular faces in the world of combat sports entertainment. Punk got most of his success after he joined WWE in 2005. Since then Puni has been a superstar in the company and has multiple titles including three World Heavyweight Championships, Intercontinental Championship, and World Tag Team Championship. He still holds the record for the longest WWE champion reign of 434 days. Other than this, Punk also has won several other WWE events and is an absolute legend of the WWE.

Initially, CM in Punk’s name stood for ‘Chick Magnet’ but the fighter changed it to various other versions, like Cookie Monster. His WWE persona was loved by many fans back in the day. He was a crowd favorite and had a hero as well as villain arcs during his prime days in the company. Punk used to wear those X symbols written on the wrist tape on his hands and with time they became iconic.

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Punk’s last WWE match was the Royal Rumble, where he fought for 49 minutes inside the ring only to be eliminated by Kane. Later, Punk had an outbreak with the company as he was not happy with his position and the number of injuries he incurred during his career. 

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Related: “I could f***ing unload on a lot,” Jon Moxley finally breaks his silence about CM Punk’s deleted Instagram story

CM Punk’s UFC debut and Fallout from the promotion

CM Punk UFC
CM Punk with Joe Rogan (Image Courtesy: UFC)

In 2014, due to his leaving the WWE, CM Punk got a lot of attention from the fans and the UFC who were struggling that year with their PPVs used it to sign Punk to the promotion as an MMA fighter. In an interview at Renee Paquette’s podcast, the fighter mentioned how he always wanted to join MMA. 

“I had planned on leaving when my deal was up at the end of 2010 or 2011. That was my plan because I always thought if I was going to train, it was never going to be a hobby for me. So, the idea was, I was going to leave.”

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However, after joining the promotion Punk was well behind the other fighters with zero MMA experience and training. In order to catch up, he trained under Duke Roufus at  Roufusport MMA Academy. In 2015, the fighter was about to make his UFC debut but due to a shoulder injury had to wait a little more. In February 2016,  the much-anticipated announcement of his fight with Mickey Gall was made which took place at UFC 203. Despite all that hype, Punk underperformed and got submitted in the very first round. 

Punk’s second UFC bout took place at UFC 225 in 2018 against Mike Jackson in Chicago. The fight had similar results as Punk got dominated and lost the fight via unanimous decision. However, later the fight has declared no contest as Jackson got tested positive for marijuana. It was the last time Punk fought in an MMA octagon and is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling as a wrestler. 

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