Belt promotion proves CM Punk’s martial arts journey is far from over

In September of 2016, pro wrestling legend CM Punk stepped into the UFC’s Octagon to battle red hot prospect Mickey Gall. At the time of this fight, Punk had almost nothing in the way of martial arts experience, and yet somehow, we were all compelled to watch his pro debut anyway.

In the end, Punk’s debut went the way most expected, as he was blown out of the water by Gall, and submitted in the first frame. That said, the wrestler did managed to earn the respect of the MMA community, showing off guts and heart abound in his first pro bout.

Since then, many fans have been wondering what’s next for him. While his team has repeatedly implied that there’s another MMA bout in his future, UFC President Dana White has stayed quiet on the topic, acknowledging only that he met with Punk last weekend.

Whatever the case, CM Punk’s martial arts journey is clearly far from over. Though he is not currently working towards a fight, he has remained dedicated to his training, and the fruits of his efforts are becoming clear.

On Tuesday afternoon, CM Punk’s head coach Duke Roufus took to Instagram to share the news that the former pro wrestler had been promoted from a Brazilian jiu-jitsu white belt to a blue belt by professor Daniel Wanderley.

Congratulations to my friend #cmpunk on earning his #brazilianjiujitsu #bjj Blue Belt today. Punk works hard and has a great attitude. #positivevibes always #jiujitsulifestyle #martialarts is Life! #Repost @danielswbjj ・・・ Congratulations on your blue belt promotion Phil. I’m honored to be part of your #JiuJitsu and #MMA journey 👊🏼#cmpunk #roufusport #carlsongracie #wanderleyjiujitsu #ufc

A post shared by Duke Roufus (@dukeroufus) on Dec 5, 2017 at 2:08pm PST

Do you think we’ll ever see CM Punk back in the cage?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 6/12/2017.