“Never Say Never”- CM Punk Reflects on a Return to MMA

CM Punk was ‘the guy’ in WWE for a good three years, peaking as the face of the company as WWE Champion and was the perfect ‘stick it to the authority’ kind of character fans had wanted to see after John Cena’s babyface spotlight.

Although WWE was his ball game, MMA provide to be a disastrous venture, leaving fans wondering why Punk decided to do it in the first place. He stopped appearing for UFC after two humiliating losses and hasn’t been seen since. 

In the years that followed, fans have been wondering whether ‘The Best in the World’ will return to MMA for a second try, or decide to head back home to his game in WWE. 

“I’m busy doing a lot of TV and movies right now, and there’s a lot more gray in this beard than there was even a year ago. So I never say never, but I mean, I’m 42. I’m getting a little long in the tooth, especially for MMA,” said Punk, speaking to TMZSports.

“I still train, but getting in the cage and fighting is a different animal. Maybe because I started way late so my knowledge of everything and my just experiences at all this is at a lower level. I just decided to fight at the highest level for some silly reason,” he concluded. 

CM Punk may not return to either format ever again

CM Punk did not really have a good career in MMA and faced two consecutive losses in his only two matches. In 2016, at UFC 203, he suffered a crushing defeat to Mickey Gall via a rear-naked choke and then again in 2018 at UFC 225 to Mike Jackson by unanimous decision. 

Although an MMA return may be too much for the 42-year-old, a return to WWE or professional wrestling for that matter seems like a better choice. 

Since his departure from the company in 2014, fans have wanted to see the former WWE Champion back. Punk himself has turned down many rumors linking him to a return, and it doesn’t seem like we will be hearing ‘Cult of Personality’ again in the arena. 

Never say never is right and if we do see CM Punk again in the Octagon, we can only hope for the best. Perhaps he has bridged that gap from the time we last saw him, but then again it’s still an uphill battle.