In an interview with Fox Sports while taking part in last weekend’s NHL All-star game festivities, C.M. Punk said that he’s been “feverishly” working on getting another fight.
“I’m throwing names at Dana (White), opponents, dates,” Punk said. “I don’t know if he’s waiting for a Chicago show or what the deal is, but if it doesn’t happen in the UFC, it will happen somewhere else. I’m dedicated to fighting and training. We’ll get there.”
Punk suffered a one-sided defeat to Mickey Gall at UFC 203 back in September in Punk’s first and only MMA fight. In the days after the fight, Dana White indicated Punk would likely not fight for the promotion again while Punk has been consistent from the start in asserting that he will fight again whether it is for UFC or not. At the moment, Punk is still under UFC contract.
UFC often runs a UFC on Fox show in Chicago in July, but has made no announcement thus far. Should such a card be announced, Punk may find a home on that show.
Hiscoe’s Analysis: He’s right that UFC may be waiting for a Chicago event to come around before booking another fight for him. UFC has been slower than usual at announcing and putting cards together, so if Chicago is being targeted for July (they probably haven’t thought that far ahead yet), that may be a logical place for him to fight. It’s his home town, so he’ll get a huge reaction even though a lot of the wind was taken out of his sails with the loss to Gall. He may have lost a lot of his drawing power from a pay-per-view perspective, so putting him on a Fox card second from the top might also make sense. The audience Punk would draw in for the second-to-last fight would hopefully carry over to get some exposure for someone UFC would like to see in big main events in the future. As for the opponents Punk is suggesting, I’d be very curious to hear who he thinks he should fight. I feel like anyone with any professional experience may be slightly insulted if they found out Punk wanted to fight them. I still like the idea of B.J. Penn vs. C.M. Punk, but I’m not holding my breath.
THURSDAY NOTEBOOK ITEMS…
-Speaking of Chicago, Bellator’s March 31 event headlined by a rematch between King Mo and Rampage Jackson will take place in the Allstate Arena in Rosemount, just outside of Chicago.
-Per Ariel Helwani on Twitter, Michelle Waterson has signed UFC parent company WME as her talent agency. Brad Slater, who is also Ronda Rousey’s agent, will be represent her.
Worth noting, as well, that Waterson recently signed with Ronda Rousey's agent @slate9 of WME to rep her following the PVZ win.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 31, 2017
-Travis Browne is denying rumours that he has left girlfriend Ronda Rousey’s trainer Edmond Tarverdyan ahead of his fight with Derrick Lewis this month. He told ESPN’s 5 Rounds Podcast that he has moved locations for his camps but that Tarverdyan comes out often to train with him.
-Heavyweight Justin Ledet has been flagged for a potential USADA violation following an Jan. 12 out of competition test.
–UFC is trying to have Nate Quarry thrown out of the class action lawsuit he is a part of against the company. UFC filed a motion Wednesday claiming that Quarry’s claims against the company are outside of a four year statute of limitations. The lawsuit was filed on Dec. 16, 2014 and Quarry’s last fight with UFC was March 31, 2010.
-Thiago Tavares’ contract was not renewed by UFC and he has signed with the Brazilian Aspera FC promotion according to MMA Fighting.
-Jason “Mayhem” Miller has been acquitted of domestic violence charges filed against him in 2013. Trial judge Kevin Faudoa said: “There wasn’t enough evidence to have him 100 percent being at fault.”
-Godofredo Pepey vs. Kyle Bochniak has been signed for UFC’s March 11 show from Brazil.
THROWBACK THURSDAY
Refamiliarize yourself with The Korean Zombie ahead of his return this weekend.
NOW CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S UPDATE: WEDNESDAY NEWS DIGEST: UFC looking into whether President Trump’s travel ban will affect upcoming fights (w/Hiscoe’s Analysis)
I FEEL LIKE THE UFC GOT WHAT THEY DESERVE! BOBBY LASHLEY HAS BEEN PROVING HIMSELF IN MMA FOR A FEW YEARS AND BECAME SHARK FIGHT CHAMPION, BUT THEY OVERLOOK HIM. SO GET THE AMATEUR AND LET THE PRO FIGHT FOR BELLATOR.