Many people see CM Punk’s time as an MMA fighter as one of the few failures of his storied career. Back in 2014, he joined the UFC, and despite spending years training at the top-tier Roufusport MMA Academy, he lost his first two fights and promptly retired following his short-lived MMA stint. It upset many of his longtime fans and angered sports bettors who rolled the dice on CM Punk being better in the UFC than he ultimately was.
If you want to avoid betting on the wrong UFC fighters to win their upcoming matchups, reading through this online betting guide at Overtime Heroics is a great start. But you should also try to recognize CM Punk’s UFC career for what it was, as it wasn’t necessarily just about him stepping into the UFC and putting together an undefeated CM Punk MMA record. It was about him trying to prove that he could do something other than just perform at the highest level as a pro wrestler.
WWE Hall of Famer JBL, also known as Bradshaw throughout his legendary pro wrestler career, appreciates what CM Punk was able to do as a UFC fighter. Even though he didn’t enjoy much success as far as winning in the UFC is concerned, JBL loves that CM Punk gave it a try and put his blood, sweat, and tears into doing something new when he was still at the pinnacle of his pro wrestling career.
“I saw him for the first time last year in Vegas, and I pulled him aside. I said, ‘I’m really proud of what you did in MMA’,” JBL said during a recent interview. “That took a lot of guts to stop doing something that you’re best in the world at and go do something completely different and put all that effort that he did into that. I mean, that was ballsy.”
JBL also went on to say he’s glad to see that the unsuccessful CM Punk MMA career didn’t stop Punk from returning to the pro wrestling world. He made his comeback in 2021 with All Elite Wrestling before finding his way back to the WWE in 2023.
CM Punk has since been sidelined by a torn triceps injury in 2024 that has prevented him from making a major splash in the WWE this year. But even still, JBL shared just how proud he is of him for bringing his career full circle with his WWE return.
“To come back and the crowd’s going crazy,” JBL said, “I hate that he got hurt right when he came back, but I’ve always liked CM Punk, and I think he’s deserving of everything that he’s done. He’s worked his butt off for a lot of things.“
At 45, CM Punk’s best pro wrestling days might be behind him. But whenever he decides to walk away from the sport, he’ll do so without having any regrets and with the respect of his fellow fighters and wrestlers still intact.
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