SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
C.M. Punk will not be making his UFC debut this summer.
Punk needs back surgery to address a nagging injury that will prevent him from taking the scheduled fight against Mickey Gall this summer.
Punk appeared at the UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas over the weekend to promote his official debut against Gall, who beat Mike Jackson in a “qualifying fight.”
However, Punk told MMAFighting.com that he knew his back situation was problematic at the time. This week, he decided he could not hold off surgery.
Punk was quoted that he figured the injury was related to his pro wrestling career and “it turns out it was.” Punk said treatments did not work while he was training for his debut MMA fight.
“This is just a bump in the road,” Punk said optimistically. “I’m positive about this.”
This will be the second surgery for Punk since beginning his journey to debut in the UFC. In 2015, Punk required shoulder surgery that pushed back his UFC debut to 2016. Now, it remains to be seen when, and if, Punk gets in the octagon.
For what it’s worth, Punk was viewed as an underdog in his scheduled fight against Gall. Las Vegas betting odds placed Punk at +230 against Gall at -300.
[ READ MORE: Full Report & Analysis at MMATorch.com ]
SMH, Punk is never gonna fight. And despite what Dana White claims, the UFC signed him purely for the publicity. How man people do you see making their very first MMA fight (not just professional MMA, but MMA in general) for UFC and also getting this much attention? But he’s been injured several times