At UFC 225, the main card opener featured former WWE champion CM Punk vs. Michael Jackson. Punk was fighting in his home town of Chicago and got plenty of fan support. Unfortunately for Punk, the cheers didn’t produce the desired outcome as he dropped to 0-2 in his short UFC career. During post fight press conferences, UFC head honcho Dana White’s comments seemed to indicate the end both Punk and Johnson’s UFC careers, at one point referring to Jackson as a “f*cking idiot.”
Punk lost by unanimous decision, taking a beating in the process, and could have very easily been finished off in the second and third rounds. The 39-year-old implemented some very unorthodox tactics in his attempt to secure a victory. Analyst Michael Bisping even had some colorful commentary to add.
Entering the MMA world can’t be an easy transition, he wanted to be in a fight. He got two shots, he took them both, and it didn’t work out. Punk also took some big shots, got bloodied, and hung in there. To be honest, this one really wasn’t close, and didn’t come as much of a surprise, I just didn’t bank on Jackson slowing the pace. (UFC 225 Predictions).
He was even gracious in defeat tweeting a response after the fight, giving praise to Jackson, his camp, fans, friends, and family.
You win some, you lose some! I'm 1-1 this week and I'll take it! Thanks to my team, my family, my friends, and THE FANS! Wouldn't be here without any of you. Respect to @TheTruthJackson, thanks for the fight! You only live once, and… I'M ALIVE! pic.twitter.com/UPPGFpx4iS
— Coach (@CMPunk) June 10, 2018
Jackson on the other hand landed 64 significant strikes in the fight but, honestly, that’s a pretty deceiving number. Jackson looked like a fighter in his second bout. Others didn’t appreciate Jackson’s antics inside the octagon, Karyn Bryant of FS1’s mentioned taking exception to the “grandstanding” by Jackson, and White seemed to echo those sentiments.
White made it very clear in the press conference he was extremely unhappy with Jackson’s performance: “I don’t know what that guy did for a living before we gave him this shot, but whatever it was he needs to go back and do that again, he’s 0-2 as far as I’m concerned.”
When asked if he sensed Jackson was “milking it” to try to secure extra TV time, White was so angry with the performance he went on to say, “I got the sense that he’s a complete f*cking idiot and I couldn’t wait for that fight to end, and I regretted not putting it on fight pass, that’s how I felt about it.”
Jackson on the other hand was confused by White’s criticisms. The 33-year-old tweeted, “I hit him with punches and elbows and he stayed standing. I didn’t want to run in and get caught with dumb shit. Imagine being the guy who loses to CM Punk!” Jackson also mentioned that he was looking at his corner for instruction.
I hit him with punches and elbows and he stayed standing. I didn’t want to run in and get caught with dumb shit. Imagine being the guy who loses to CM Punk! https://t.co/DNgztswpzH
— Mike Jackson, Esq. (@TheTruthJackson) June 10, 2018
Unfortunately for both men, it appears their time with the UFC has come to a close. White very clearly says that it’s probably time for the CM thing to be a “wrap,” which unfortunately kills my dream of any any Royal Rumble/UFC Fight Night title unification inside the Pearl at the Palms.
After his scathing criticism of Jackson, Dana has made his future abundantly clear. Perhaps it was more Thunder Lips vs Rocky Balboa. Maybe it wasn’t. Sure didn’t seem like either fighter came to fight. I personally had some questions with the ceremonial weigh-in. Call me crazy, but this image doesn’t give me the impression these two were ready to beat the hell out of each other. With White publicly embarrassing Jackson and Jackson publicly embarrassing Punk, I think we’ve seen the last of both fighters in the UFC.
