Being an all-rounder and competing at crossovers to jumping to a completely new sport isn’t the strange case now. One of the athletes who walked both sports and entertainment is the legendary CM Punk. The 45-year-old is a professional wrestler and a former MMA fighter. Even though he wasn’t trained in MMA initially, he put his heart and soul into entering the UFC. CM Punk signed the contract with the promotion in the year 2014 and has had two fights so far.
His UFC debut took place at UFC 203 in 2016. He fought against Mickey Gall and lost the bout via submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round of the fight. Punk’s second UFC bout was at UFC 225 in 2018, where he faced Mike Jackson.
The fight ended up with a win for Jackson via a unanimous decision later overturned to a no contest. The fight results were overturned after three years when Jackson tested positive for the use of a banned substance.
This bout, however, was a one-sided fight as CM Punk failed to show his fighting skills inside the octagon. Later, he was advised by Dana White to retire from the UFC, and the American wrestler announced his retirement in 2021. Post his retirement, Punk returned to continue his career in wrestling.
CM Punk: Career after UFC losses
Punk is widely known for his outspoken personality, but he is equally impressive when it comes to his acting skills. After his second loss, the former MMA fighter continued to make strides in his acting career.
He did various films and shows including ‘Girl on the Third Floor’ in 2013 in which he played the character of ‘Don Koch’. In the same year, he did another film, ‘Rabid’ in which he appeared as ‘Billy’. His last film appearance was in 2021 for the film ‘Jakob’s Wife’ in which he played the role of ‘Deputy Colton’.
Other than doing films, Punk has also been a part of various television programs like ‘Ultimate Beastmaster’ in 2018 and ‘WWE Backstage’ in 2019-2020. He is currently a part of two recurring shows named ‘Heels’ and ‘Mayans M.C.’ which have different seasons.
Welcome Back, @CMPunk! #WWEMSG @WWE
: Michelle Farsi / MSGE pic.twitter.com/oBDuRTQPHk
— MSG (@TheGarden) December 27, 2023
He has been a part of various video games too and is currently a part-time commentator for Cage Fury Fighting Championships. Not only this, but he recently made a huge return to the WWE in Madison Square Garden.
Punk entered the ring against Dominik Mysterio and defeated him via GTS finisher. Punk’s return has given a boost of adrenaline to both UFC and WWE fans. It will be interesting to see who and what he plans to take on next.
