February 10, 2016
Update 2/10/16: For a moment, it looked like a CM Punk UFC fight was finally going to happen. With a victory at UFC Fight Night 82 this past Saturday, Mickey Gall fought his way into the spot as Punk's first opponent. As had been rumored -- and suggested by UFC president Dana White -- the fight was likely to be at UFC 199 in June.
However, the fight will not be taking in place in June or any time soon as it was announced CM Punk will need to undergo back surgery to repair a herniated disc. Punk's recovery time is expected to be four to six weeks, which will certainly push back his training, though he still hopes to fight at least once in 2016.
As big of a draw as the former WWE champion would be, his debut fight was not set to be the main event for UFC 199. That instead will be a rematch between Luke Rockhold and Chris Weidman for the Middleweight title. While the main event is set, there are no further details for where or when UFC 199 will take place in June.
---------------------
Could CM Punk's Debut Come At UFC 199 In June?
For many wrestling and MMA fans, the debut of CM Punk, UFC fighter, in the Octagon has been met with much anticipation. Punk has been training MMA for a little under a year after his departure from WWE following last year’s Royal Rumble in January.
There now appears to be some hints on when Punk could be making his UFC debut. During a radio interview on Friday UFC president suggested UFC 199 in June could be when it happens. There is currently no date or venue scheduled for UFC 199, but those should be revealed shortly. After Ronda Rousey withdrew from UFC 200 in July, some suggested Punk could make his debut then to bring in the star power wanted for such a major event that will open the new Las Vegas Arena. However, White shot that down while suggesting that fight should come in June.
In a previous interview White also mentioned 23-year-old Mickey Gall (1-0) would likely be CM Punk’s first opponent should he win a fight against Michael Jackson (0-0) at UFC 196 in February. Gall was recently featured on White’s reality series Looking For a Fight and during the series Gall called out Punk, something that was likely a factor in placing him as the favorite to face the former WWE champion.
Of course some of this is still speculation, but that speculation is coming from the man in charge. It’s likely Punk’s first fight will draw significant demand from those wanting to attend, though how much remains to be seen. UFC 196 tickets on February 6 have an average price of $577.96 on the secondary market. However tickets for UFC 197 in March have an average price of $1,772.61 with Conor McGregor and Holly Holm on the card.
This post will continue to updated as more details for CM Punk’s possible UFC debut are released.
[embedit cf="HTML1"]
