With less than a week to go before the stacked UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero II pay-per-view card, the attention from the MMA and pro wrestling communities are definitely split. In terms of MMA fans, CM Punk doesn’t even belong on the main PPV card. To pro wrestling fans, it’s the biggest fight on the card.
With that said, UFC released a promotional video this week that satisfied some of the appetite that pro wrestling fans have for this card, which weren’t satisfied by the official Countdown to UFC 225 preview special that came out over the weekend.
In the video, Punk and his opponent, fellow 0-1 professional MMA rookie Mike Jackson comment about their upcoming battle, as well as their previous loss to the same man, Mickey Gall.
“In my first fight, Mickey Gall was the better guy, you know,” said Punk of his Octagon debut at UFC 203 in September of 2016. “So, it’s just like … do you walk away from that and just say, ‘Oh, good job?’ To me, I wanna get better.”
Punk added, “My main motivation is just the drive. I’m not chasing money, I mean if anything, you can say I’m chasing glory. I’m chasing that ‘W.’ It’s my second fight and I’ve got a lot to prove, you know? And I’m going to prove it to myself and my team. You’re about to see a more experienced CM Punk.”
The former WWE Superstar also spoke about his decision to continue with his MMA aspirations and return to the Octagon to fight Mike Jackson in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
“It’d be easy to quit and walk away, but I’ve kind of never done the easy thing,” said Punk. “To me, the harder I work, the bigger the victory. I feel like I can’t lose with that hometown advantage. I want to get this win for the entire city of Chicago. I’ve grown leaps and bounds and I have gained a ton of experience and knowledge, and I will bring that into the cage, and I will defeat Mike Jackson.”
For his part, Mike Jackson, who also lost to Mickey Gall in his lone UFC appearance back at UFC Fight Night 82 in February of 2016, spoke about issues he had with his Octagon debut.
“Man, you know, making your pro debut in the UFC it’s something that you can’t really prepare yourself for,” admitted Jackson. “I wanna get back in there, you know? Because I’m ready to show I’m not just an 0-1 MMA fighter who lost to Mickey Gall.”
Jackson also claimed that in his fight against Punk at UFC 225, fans will see the difference between an amateur and a professional.
“You have an amateur fighter stepping into the cage against a professional,” said Jackson. “In the short period of time that he’s been training, he can’t get to the level that I am currently at.”
Jimmy Smith Looks At Punk vs. Jackson
Additionally, UFC commentator Jimmy Smith weighs in with his thoughts on the match, as well as Punk coming up short in his first appearance inside the Octagon nearly two years ago.
“So many people were looking at CM Punk the moment he made his Octagon debut, and the pressure and all of those eyes on him, got to him,” Smith said. “Coming in to this fight against Mike Jackson, it’s can he show the UFC fans what he’s been training for. Both of these guys are trying to prove themselves to the fans.”
"My main motivation is the drive."@CMPunk & @TheTruthJackson enter the Octagon with a point to prove. #UFC225 pic.twitter.com/yHa3De0s8B
— UFC (@ufc) June 4, 2018
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