It would seem that Phil ‘CM Punk’ Brooks’ UFC journey isn’t over just yet.
Punk suffered an ignominious mixed martial arts debut a year ago when he was taken down and summarily submitted by Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in Cleveland but it appears that he will be given another shot in the UFC, according to an Instagram post by his Roufusport head coach Duke Roufus.
Roufus posted the above image in which he appears to confirm that his students Punk and John Makdessi are awaiting fight confirmations. Makdessi hasn’t competed in the UFC since losing via spectacular wheel kick knockout to Lando Vanatta last December.
Should this news come to pass, it will likely draw scrutiny from the mixed martial arts community following the nature of his loss to Gall last year. While Gall has deservedly been heralded as a top prospect in the UFC, the ease in which he dispatched Punk could potentially have damaged the former WWE champion’s ability to generate interest in his future bouts.
However, with another year of training under his belt (which takes it to more than two and a half years in total since signing with the UFC) could CM Punk have raised his game to the level where he can compete with fighters of a similar experience level to him.
It is likely that this will be the promotional angle that the UFC will push should they book Punk for a sophomore bout. However, another loss for the 38-year-old (particularly if it comes in the same manner as his defeat to Gall) would likely spell the end of Punk’s tenure on the active UFC roster.
