UFC Veteran Phil Baroni Calls Out CM Punk

The callouts of WWE veteran CM Punk began just moments after it was announced that he had signed with the UFC. It seemed that half the UFC roster was interested in welcoming the inexperienced 37-year-old to the Octagon, all well-aware of the effect a win over a superstar of his caliber would have on their careers.

In the end, of course, the task of welcoming Punk to the Octagon would go to 24-year-old prospect Mickey Gall, who mugged the pro wrestler on the main card of September’s UFC 203. Yet even after Punk’s disastrous UFC debut, the callouts have continued. Though it’s not even known if he’ll be given a second opportunity in the UFC, he still remains high on a number of wish lists.

The latest fighter to call the pro wrestling veteran out is “The New York Bad Ass” Phil Baroni, a veteran of the UFC middleweight and welterweight divisions.

Baroni made this callout in two parts on Twitter, first suggesting that he was ready to accept a fight, then elaborating he was interested in a fight with Punk specifically.

READY 4 WAR @PhuketTopTeam pic.twitter.com/WhFlkd12pN

— phil baroni (@philbaroni) October 17, 2016

Not 4 nuttin if @CMPunk wants to fight again it should be against me. #Now it's time to really fight and get fucked up 4real or not up2him

— phil baroni (@philbaroni) October 17, 2016

The 40-year-old Baroni, of course, is a much more experienced mixed martial artist than Punk – 33 times more experienced, to be exact. Despite this massive experiential edge, however, the UFC veteran has fallen on tough times, having lost 7 of his last 10, and fallen far below the .500 mark overall with a 15-18 pro record. He has certainly not looked like a world-beater of late, so there is perhaps some merit to his callout of Punk.

That being said, the likelihood of the UFC resigning Baroni, who is currently on a three-fight skid, to fight Punk, who was mauled in his lone MMA bout, seems negligible. So, were this prospective bout to happen, it’d probably have to happen outside the UFC’s Octagon.

Baroni, who has also competed in promotions like Pride, Strikeforce, EliteXC, Bellator, and One Championship, is perhaps best known for his blistering multi-punch knockout of Dave Menne at UFC 39, all the way back in 2002.

Are you interested in seeing him fight CM Punk? How do you think this fight would go? Sound off, PENN nation!