UFC ‘leaning’ on giving CM Punk another fight—report

Professional wrestler CM Punk

Given the UFC’s penchant for cutting underperforming fighters, many believed that CM Punk would get the boot after his poor showing against Mickey Gall at UFC 203.

The premiere MMA promotion, however, hasn’t ruled him out of its future plans just yet and is “leaning” on giving him a second chance to prove his mettle inside the octagon, according to a report by The Score.

The professional wrestler turned mixed martial artist was easily taken down and submitted by the much experienced Gall in a welterweight bout that lasted just over 2 minutes. The 37-year-old pro-fight novice never mounted any offence and got pummeled for majority of the fight’s duration.

Despite his feeble performance, a second fight comes as no surprise since Punk appeared to have made a significant impact on viewership for the Sept. 10 card. The event’s estimated pay-per-view (PPV) numbers indicated he was responsible for drawing in an extra 125,000-225,000 PPV buyers.

Overall,  the card drew at least 425,000 buys, good for the fourth-highest total of the year, only behind UFC 196 and UFC 202—both headlined by Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.

UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, meanwhile, believes Punk can win a UFC fight, if he gets a chance to develop on the regional scene first, the report said.

Shortly after Punk’s defeat, UFC President Dana White suggested that the former WWE superstar’s next fight take place outside the Octagon, but it appears that he’s open to changing his mind.  Khristian Ibarrola

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