CM Punk suggests he could potentially fight outside of the UFC

Former pro wrestler CM Punk is now 0-2 as a mixed martial artist. Both of those losses occurred in the UFC’s Octagon, where he was first submitted in the first round by Mickey Gall, then walloped to a decision by Mike Jackson.

Since his loss to Jackson, which occurred at UFC 225 in June, Punk’s future has been nebulous. More recently, however, CM Punk has suggested that he still plans to continue training in MMA at the very least. And speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show this week, he suggested that he would consider fighting outside the UFC if the UFC is no longer interested in promoting his fights.

“I don’t think it’s UFC or bust,” CM Punk said (transcript via MMAMania). “I’m definitely in a weird position, you know what I mean? There are other places out there, but would I go? Should I go?”

Whatever the case, CM Punk understands that his big name will likely propel him into lucrative spots wherever he ends up— though he also understands why the UFC might no longer be interested in him.

”Deserves got nothing to do with it,” he said. “I still look at it like the world’s my oyster. I’m fortunate enough to kinda pick and choose. I’d be the first to admit – you know me, I’m brutally honest – it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense for me to fight in the UFC again. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

At present, CM Punk is still under contract with the UFC. But, to the best of his knowledge, his contract with the promotion will soon wrap up. This would certainly seem to open the door to his fighting in other promotions, such as Bellator.

“If there’s a deadline [on that] it’s coming up at the end of the year,” he said.

Would you be interested in seeing CM Punk fight in promotions outside of the UFC in the future?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 9/11/2018.