CM Punk Is Finding MMA Transition Harder Than Expected

Former WWE superstar CM Punk has yet to make his UFC debut after signing with the promotion in late 2014, and a new report suggests that he’s struggling to make the transition to the fight game.

That’s the word according to Dave Meltzer of ‘The Wrestling Observer’, who claims that the 37 year-old isn’t progressing as well as had been anticipated in training at the respected Roufusport gym in Milwaukee, and hadn’t performed well in live sparring sessions.

The UFC’s plan was originally to have Punk fight in 2015, but that was delayed to give him more time to work on his skill-set. He was then targeted for a fight at UFC 199 in June, but again his debut was postponed due to injuries to his back and shoulders.

That might have been a blessing disguise as Meltzer also suggests that the feeling in his camp was that Punk’s intended opponent, Mickey Gall, who’d been discovered on the ‘Dana White: Lookin’ For A Fight’ show’, would likely prove to be too much for him to handle.

With that in mind, the question might not be ‘when’, but ‘if’ CM Punk will ever fight in the UFC.

To be fair, it seems that CM Punk has been committed to his MMA training throughout this process, and even moved to Milwaukee to be nearer the Roufusport gym, but given how things are going it wouldn’t be too big of a a surprise if he decided to just hang up his gloves before ever setting foot in the Octagon.

Ross Cole
Ross launched MMA Insight (previously FightOfTheNight.com) in 2009 as a way to channel his passion for the sport of mixed martial arts. He's since penned countless news stories and live fight reports along with dozens of feature articles as the lead writer for the site, reaching millions of fans in the process.