UFC legend remains shocked that former WWE superstar was allowed to fight inside the Octagon

One former UFC veteran remains surprised that a WWE superstar was allowed to compete inside the Octagon.

MMA and pro wrestling have been linked throughout the years. Many of the UFC’s top stars have taken inspiration from WWE with special walkouts. We’ve even see a former WWE champion in Brock Lesnar become a UFC heavyweight titleholder. While Lesnar had the amateur wrestling credentials to earn his spot on the UFC roster, one fellow WWE superstar did not.

Matt Brown remains baffled by the UFC’s decision to allow CM Punk to put the gloves on back in 2016, and then one more time in 2018.

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Brown Still Puzzled by CM Punk in UFC

Several years may have passed since UFC fans saw CM Punk inside the Octagon, but Matt Brown remains in disbelief. During an episode of MMAFighting.com‘s “The Fighter vs. The Writer,” Brown said he doesn’t feel the reception is what UFC officials anticipated.

“The thing with the Punk thing, it wasn’t so much Punk,” Brown explained on the latest episode of The Fighter vs. The Writer. “A lot of people dream about fighting in the UFC. Just the fact that the UFC let it happen, it’s like what are you guys doing? This is unnecessary. It’s not the PR move they thought it was, at least in my opinion. Maybe I’m wrong. It did more for Mickey Gall than anybody else. I love Mickey. I’m good friends with Mickey so good for him. But I don’t think it did shit for the UFC.

“You’re not supposed to get in there because of your fame or your popularity. You’re supposed to be the baddest f*cking dude. As real as it gets, right?”

Since his time away from the Octagon, Punk has reemerged in the wrestling industry. He joined AEW in 2021, but found himself back in WWE in late 2023. He recently scored his first “WrestleMania” main event in a losing effort against Seth Rollins in a triple threat match that also included Roman Reigns.