Shortly after CM Punk signed with the UFC, the talk has been on who would they match up against the inexperienced WWE star. I’ve recently made my case and gave 5 reasons why the UFC should book the Green Ranger, Jason David Frank vs. CM Punk, and it really wouldn’t be as crazy as it sounds.
Phil Brooks was recently asked about this potential bout, and the pro-wrestling star responded with a slight chuckle and denied knowing anything of Frank or his challenge. Both men have been on conventions and tours together in the past where they even spoke about a potential MMA bout, so the snub ‘bugs’ Frank quite a bit.
He spoke about it with Fox Sports, saying that pretending to not know about him could only mean that Punk either doesn’t want to give him credibility with MMA fans, or he’s scared:
“He says ‘I didn’t know about this, I only know he’s the Green Power Ranger’ so it’s like dude, you do know me. Acknowledge that you know me, whether this is going to happen or not.”
… “The frustrating part is I’ve trained with UFC guys. I’ve sparred Melvin Guillard, he can vouch for me, I’ve sparred Mike Bronzoulis, he’s an amazing fighter. I spar all these MMA guys and I earned my respect. I used to spar with Derrick Lewis all the time, he’s a heavyweight in the UFC, the guy is a beast. You can ask Derrick up front about me, he’d say I’m legit. I would throw down with him.”
“I’m not going to lose. He’s not hungry. He looked like he regrets the deal. He looks scared, he looked nervous. I’m hungry because I want this fight. I’ve wanted this for two years. He needs to figure it out because there’s way too much hype in this. He can continue to ignore me and he can go to bed every night and go to sleep and know that he’s been punked.”
Frank, who is a decorated Karate expert and BJJ purple belt, has been calling for the bout for roughly two years. Now that Brooks has inked a deal with the UFC, he’s still making his case for that bout against Punk. While Frank maintains that the call-out is nothing personal, he believes it’s a bout that would make sense for all parties involved:
“I’m totally more legit than him. It’s just kind of silly. This is a logical fight. I just feel my track record’s huge. But in reality The Green Power Ranger vs. CM Punk is the same thing. CM Punk comes from fake wrestling, and the fans are going to kill me for saying that, but it’s entertaining. It’s great, but it’s entertainment. I come from the entertainment industry, but I’m a life long martial artist. I go way back.
“The only negative side of this fight happening would be the UFC being accused of turning this into a circus side show — well, you kind of already are (signing CM Punk). So why not do it, sell a lot of tickets and it would be a big box office draw.”
According to the interview, despite winning all 5 of his MMA fights and having an extensive Martial Arts background, Frank would’ve likely turned down any UFC deal if it wasn’t opposite CM Punk first. He understands he may still not belong with the best fighters in the world, and respects the time and work involved in earning a shot at the biggest MMA organization in the world.
He thinks it’s something CM Punk may not be able to fully grasp just yet:
“I wish him the best, but he doesn’t know what this world is.”
Having fought at heavyweight and light heavyweight in the past, Frank has recently showed that he’s now under 195 lbs, and is more than willing to face Punk at middleweight.
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