Another UFC fight for CM Punk makes sense

Victor Rodriguez makes the case for CM Punk to get another UFC fight.

UFC 203 is done and over with, and while there was plenty of strange items to take away from the event, the biggest questions continue to surround one man: CM Punk.Prior to the event, there was an increasing degree of anticipation for his debut, as well as a fair degree of questions regarding what would happen when it was over. As previously noted, the time between the announcement of Punk’s signing and the fight itself was enough to take some luster off the event and possibly lower previous buyrate expectations.So, we all saw how it went down. Punk did not even accomplish the feat of landing a single strike during the course of the contest. He demonstrated way better submission defense than he did on the documentary that aired in the lead-up to his fight, yet it was all for naught against an aggressive brown belt with clean technique that trains with high-level grapplers. Punk did not even survive a single round against a fighter that under ordinary circumstances wouldn’t even be in the UFC — this is despite his promise and skill level — were it not for the fortuitous visit to a regional show by UFC personnel, as well as his timely call out to seize the opportunity.Yet the one undeniable fact here is that Punk drew eyeballs to this event. Eyeballs that had to pay to get in and boost PPV sales.Whether it was genuine interest or morbid curiosity with an expectation of a bizarre spectacle, people watched. Early estimates of this event have even placed it well over the 600,000 buyrate mark - a number we can safely assume the event may not have reached on its own despite being action heavy with various familiar faces to fans, as well as a few former champions competing on the same card.

UFC 203 will likely have the most PPV buys by a card w/o McGregor, Rousey or Lesnar since UFC 183. Maybe since UFC 182.

— Marc Raimondi (@marc_raimondi) September 11, 2016

Now, this isn’t to say that Punk was the only factor at play. A world heavyweight title fight was also on the card, and promotion for the event was pretty strong compared to some other PPV outings. Still, Punk’s inclusion on the card seems to be the most obvious primary booster of sales for this event.

If this holds true and the final numbers really are that good, then the gamble has paid off for the UFC from a financial perspective. In fact, his disclosed fight purse of $500,000 (and the possibility of additional PPV points) could be argued to be something of a bargain if the UFC made a substantial profit from it all.

From a pure sporting perspective, this fight should not even have happened. Gall’s combined five fights (all wins, four finishes) got him the experience necessary to take on Punk, and there was very little chance (barring some sort of unforeseen circumstances) that Punk could have got the win here. The UFC keeps the aura of legitimacy, demonstrating that it’s not just anyone that can come in and take a fight to win against a well-trained opponent.

Punk’s opponent? He comes out smelling like roses. After an injury sidelined Punk and postponed their fight, Gall had the opportunity to at least expand his record and get a win over Mike Jackson, giving the world a taste of what he could do. He won the fight convincingly and looked good doing it - plus had the benefit of having the UFC make him out to be the true stiff test that he was for someone that had never fought professionally before. His stock would have taken a massive hit had he lost this fight, or even if the fight ended in a close decision. The UFC gets to keep him in their pocket.

Now, they have the benefit of having a young and capable fighter with a lot of upside stay in the UFC and continue to put on good fights, and this is not lost on Gall. His immediate call-out of Sage Northcutt was an even smarter and more ambitious gambit that could pay large dividends, even if only in the short term. So there’s another plus for the UFC.

All in all, what happens to Punk now?

First, it seems very unlike the UFC’s modus operandi that they would sign as visible a personality as Punk to a one-and-done deal. They weren’t willing to do that with Fedor Emilianenko of all people, so there’s a good chance that Punk is still under contract. Any hopes or expectations of him signing with Bellator should be taken with a grain of salt. Besides, he’s played ball with the UFC since day one, and they’ve invested a fair amount of money, time, energy and exposure to at least give it another go.

Not that this is something that should be encouraged, largely due to ethics and the notion of sanctity of sport. But for those that aren’t very concerned with that, their complaints will fall on deaf ears anyway. Look at the booking we’ve seen in recent years: Anderson Silva vs Nick Diaz; Anderson Silva vs Michael Bisping; Conor McGregor vs Nate Diaz; and the inclusion of Cris Cyborg doing catchweight fights. The objective here is clearly big money fights, and there’s no going back from that. Let’s also remember that McGregor/dos Anjos and Ronda Rousey/Gina Carano were planned (or at least considered) but eventually bouts that never took place. Sure, those all were fights with established veterans, some of which are the greatest fighters that Mixed Martial Arts has ever see, but it’s big business, and that’s what WME|IMG is aiming for.

Don’t be too surprised if they have Punk eventually fight another pro wrestler, or perhaps an actor or reality show personality. Is it right? Maybe not. Yet it’s absolutely possible nonetheless. Strikeforce had Herschel Walker take on regional fighters with nothing but an NFL career and a Taekwondo blackbelt to account for prior to setting up shop at AKA in San Jose. Bellator has had some questionable bouts as well, especially the irresponsibly dreadful performance of Dhafir Harris, a.k.a. Dada 5000. When those organizations did it, those fights were labeled circus acts and sideshows, but people watched and didn’t give it much thought after it was over.

Does this mean that the UFC as a whole needs to go full sideshow? No. But setting Punk up with Gall was setting him up to fail. He’d need someone from outside or perhaps another fighter on the regional circuit. Some have even suggested bringing back the man that Gall first fought in the UFC, Mike Jackson. All things considered, this would probably be the best option from a public relations standpoint, as Jackson at least has some amateur fights under his belt and fought once in the UFC. Besides, it’s not like the UFC has to break the bank to sign him, and he’s already had some fun at the expense of Punk’s loss while clamoring for that fight as well.

Think about it - both are 0-1, and neither is likely to have any significant impact on any division. A loss to either one doesn’t affect the UFC, and fans would probably be less upset with this than any other proposed matchup. It becomes its own self-contained novelty item. Not only that, but Punk has a far better chance of winning this fight than any fight against Mickey Gall (sorry again, Mike). All of which helps the UFC, because a Punk win could potentially offer more visibility and attention than his recent loss. Add to that the fact that Punk would have more training under his belt and we’d see a more polished (fine, a less rough) version of Punk against someone with a closer experience level. We’ve seen time and time again how the UFC likes to reward those that play nice and take on tough bouts with more winnable fights (e.g., Ron Stallings). Also important? Jackson wants the fight, too.

Some fans and media have mentioned another possibility - to keep him under contract and grant him an exception to fight for a smaller organization on the UFC’s dime, as was the case with Jessamyn Duke.

Yet that’s another idea that would be absurd.

Punk made a cool half-million to fight (despite some other fighters not being very pleased with the news of how much he was making), and the UFC is supposed to pay major money to have him bring attention to another organization? That doesn’t make any kind of business sense. There’s precedent to this point, and that’s Cris Cyborg being on the UFC’s payroll since at least last year and fighting for Invicta, but finally being pulled up to the UFC roster to generate direct revenue for them.

Now if by way of some dark magic or just more-than-amicable negotiations Punk is released from his contract and does go over to Bellator, he’d probably give them the kind of audience and exposure that could come close to filling the void left by the late Kimbo Slice. Bellator doesn’t have pay-per-views, so that’s a guaranteed high viewership for them. However, Bellator’s lack of PPV means a potential for smaller paydays. Despite his high price tag, Punk is independently wealthy enough already, so money isn’t his only concern. It could still be a factor. Finding an opponent for Punk in Bellator would most definitely be more sideshow than having him fight Jackson in the UFC. Again, maybe another pro-wrestler trying to fight in MMA or that has already fought. It would be better than bringing in an unknown from the regional scene or some other personality, although with our luck they’ll probably get the 47-year old ECW and WWE veteran Kid Kash. Punk is probably the only guy for which they’d bring Dada back.

No, you don’t want that. Believe me.

Still, it’s too early to say what will happen for sure. As absurd as it seemed after being totally dominated by Gall, it’s not totally out of the question for Punk to get another fight in the UFC. The coffers got a little fatter, Punk got a taste of that rush that a fighter gets and a chance to get a much sought-after win, and with very little effort they could make a second fight not only a possibility, not a big opportunity to make both parties happy.