The man who lost to the man who beat C.M. Punk in his lone MMA fight is looking for a fight with Punk to prove who is the worst of the worst.
Mike “The Truth” Jackson spoke to MMA Junkie backstage Saturday night at UFC’s event in Houston and told them he would like a UFC fight with Punk. “Let’s see who the real can is here,” he said. “Can” refers to the old boxing expression “tomato can,” a label given to a fighter with inferior skills who is fed to another fighter to give that fighter an easy win.
Jackson sees how a fight with Punk would make sense as both lost to Mickey Gall in 2016, and Gall was told he would get the fight with Punk if he were to beat Jackson, so the two have been connected for some time. Gall submitted both fighters in the first round of their respective fights, Jackson in 45 seconds and Punk in 2:14.
“You’re trying to make money, and that’s really the only reason we’re bringing this guy in in the first place, and it seems what’s best would be to allow me to fight him,” Jackson said backstage where he was in attendance to cover the event for his website.
While Punk has speculated that he may be saved for a Chicago event later this year, Jackson said that he could sell tickets in Dallas. UFC 211 will take place in Dallas on May 13.
Punk told media last week at the NHL All-Star game he was pitching names and dates to UFC. Time will tell if Jackson was one of them.
Hiscoe’s Analysis: While their paths and professional experience levels are similar, I’m not crazy about the idea of UFC putting on a Punk-Jackson fight just to prove who is the worst of the worst fighters UFC has employed in the modern era. That said, I can’t blame him for lobbying for the fight, because it’s really his only shot at another UFC payday and would be good promotion for his website. Their paths do seem destined to cross, though, and any other promotion would put that fight together in a heartbeat if Punk were to become a free agent, so I can see UFC making the fight just to keep anyone else from doing it. From a competitive level, it’s probably about as even a fight as they can make for Punk short of finding another inexperienced 40-year old looking to start an MMA career. It’s not my first pick, but it is a logical choice if they’re going to use Punk again.
TUESDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…
-Frankie Edgar told Monday’s edition of “The MMA Hour” that he thinks UFC is “getting silly” with their use of interim titles recently. When asked if he would consider a move down to bantamweight, he said he would only make the move if he were given an immediate shot at the winner of this summer’s Cody Garbrandt vs. T.J. Dillashaw fight.
-After a couple of tough weight cuts to 135 and despite UFC creating a new 145 pound women’s division, Miesha Tate told MMA Junkie Radio that she’s not considering coming out of retirement.
-The Association of Boxing Commissions MMA rules committee has made some recommendations for rule changes including the use of instant replay to determine if a fight was ended as the result of an illegal blow. They also recommended fights that end due to an accidental foul, equipment failure, or act of god during any part of the second round of a three round fight, or third round of a five round fight, can go to the judge’s scorecards for a technical decision. Currently, the second or third round needs to be complete for a technical decision to be possible.
-Invicta FC Atomweight Champion Ayaka Hamasaki is moving up to strawweight to challenge champion Livia Renata Souza at the promotion’s March 25 event from Kansas City. (SOURCE)
-The first episode of UFC 208: Embedded is now available.
NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S UPDATE: MONDAY NEWS DIGEST: David Branch leaving World Series of Fighting Champion to test free agency (w/Hiscoe’s Analysis)
(MMATorch’s Daily News Digest features the top story of the day with added analysis, plus smaller tidbits in the News Notes section. Mike Hiscoe, who writes the News Digest Sundays through Thursdays, has a background in film criticism and previously wrote for the DVD Town and Movie Metropolis websites. His passion for Mixed Martial Arts goes back to 2005, but it was in the promotion for UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie that he really got hooked.”This is my house, I build it,” is still among the all-time great UFC promos. You can follow Mike on social media under the tag @mikehiscoe. He now provides his experienced writing and perspective on live MMA events for MMATorch.)
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