October - 2016
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
38
about to think I can make it
in the UFC, myself being the
same age as Phil Brooks), set
the bar too high, and was only
allowed to reach for such lofty,
unrealistic expectations due to
his celebrity.
MMA is a business, and in
2016, we know that. We knew
it before WME-IMG plunked
down over four billion dollars
to buy the world’s premiere
mixed martial arts promotion.
So it’s no surprise that the UFC
wanted to cash in on Punk.
The UFC has been spectacle
over sport the past while, as
much as they’d like to pretend
otherwise with uniforms and
rankings. Otherwise, Conor
McGregor would not have
had two straight welterweight
fights against Nate Diaz while
holding the 145-pound title.
So the conditions were ripe for
an experiment like the Punk
one, just like they were ripe
for James Tooney to jump in
the cage as a boxer and em-
barrass himself against Randy
Couture.
Now? The experiment must be
over.
Following his loss at UFC 203,
which saw Gall quickly take
him down and submit him
with a rear-naked choke, Punk
talked about coming back, and
fighting again. In the UFC?
No thanks. Dana White and
co. need to take this oppor-
tunity to shake Punk’s hand,
say thanks for the ratings, and
give him his walking papers.
They’d be doing the man a fa-
vor, and prevent him from fur-
ther embarrassing himself.
See, while Punk may see it as
pushing himself, he has also
given in to his pride. Punk
thinks, if he can keep plugging
away in training, that he’ll get
the hang of this fighting thing.
That he’ll win a fight. And live
the dream the way it played
out in his head, no doubt for
many years.
Sorry Punk, it’s not to be. Not
at a top level.
Oh, the UFC has options. They
could push Punk through a
season of The Ultimate Fight-
er. He’d get some amateur ex-
perience that way, the show
would no doubt see a spike in
the ratings, but at the end of
the day? It’s doubtful he’d find
any success on the show. And
whether that would be better
than just getting back in the
gym at Roufusport is question-
able.
Or they could give Punk an-
other fight, against Mike Jack-
son — the part time fighter
Mickey Gall was given to crush
in his first UFC fight. That was
the promotion padding Gall’s
record, plain and simple. They
might have thought, at the
time, that Punk would be able
to handle Gall, and wanted
the bout between the two to
be a little more legit. Well, it
didn’t matter in the end, but
there’s a chance Punk would
be able to find success against
Jackson, who is a part timer
who moonlights as an MMA
journalist.
Other than those options?
What’s the UFC to do, start re-
cruiting in local gyms looking
for amateurs pushing forty?
No, Punk needs a dose of re-
ality here, if he didn’t already
get one last night. And the
UFC needs to give it to him.
Cut him, as a fighter. Keep
him around on commentary,
maybe, or in a fan ambassa-
dor role. He can at least say
he gave it his all, and for that,
there should be nothing but
respect for the man.
In the cage? Lets hope he’s
done, at least with the UFC. If
he wants to take a step down
in competition and fight else-
where, fair enough. He might
actually have a shot there.
Otherwise? Again, this experi-
ment, as far as the UFC in con-
cerned, needs to be over.
