Joe Rogan was surprised by CM Punk’s skills in the final UFC fight of his career, which was subsequently scratched from his record.
When the UFC announced the signing of CM Punk in 2014, it was classified as one of the biggest signings in the sport at the time because of how big of a star he was in the WWE.
At that time, the only other WWE superstar to have made the transition over to the premier MMA promotion was Brock Lesnar, and he incredibly went on to win the UFC heavyweight title.
Although Punk’s promotional debut at UFC 203 against Mickey Gall didn’t go entirely to plan, in his second outing against Mike Jackson, the newcomer surprised UFC icon, Joe Rogan.
Joe Rogan surprised by CM Punk in final UFC fight
Despite being bulldozed by Gall in his debut outing, over two years later, Punk returned for a fight in his hometown of Chicago when he was matched up with Jackson at UFC 225.
As Gall was more so known for his grappling prowess, Punk’s second fight came against someone who was more known for their striking, giving him at least somewhat of a chance this time around.
After receiving a huge pop from the crowd during the fighter walkouts and the ring announcements from Bruce Buffer, Punk started off the fight not looking too uncomfortable, to the surprise of Rogan.
“He looks calm on the feet. I like what I’m seeing, nice leg kicks by CM Punk,” Rogan said during the initial exchanges in the fight.
Despite that, it didn’t take long for Jackson to quickly take over the fight as he peppered Punk with some heavy shots over the top as Punk attempted to land leg kicks.
“Listen to the crowd! They’re getting into this!” Rogan exclaimed as the crowd began to scream CM Punk’s name.
“He’s tough, he has to be tough to take a fight like this on a UFC PPV, it’s crazy,” Rogan continued.
At the end of round one, Punk landed a takedown on Jackson which Rogan believed could’ve won him his first ever round in the UFC.
Unfortunately for Punk and his fans, he went on to get dominated for the remaining two rounds as Jackson outstruck him and dominated him on the ground when the fight hit the mat.
The result was scratched from Punk’s record three years after loss
Despite the embarrassing loss to ‘The Truth’ Jackson, it was made public over three years after their clash that the result was overturned to a no-contest after Jackson tested positive for Marijuana.
That rule has since been eradicated from the UFC and it is a rule that took away a large part of Nick Diaz’s career after he was also handed a lengthy ban for the same thing.
Although Punk signed a multi-fight deal with the promotion, following his loss to Jackson, UFC boss Dana White urged that he didn’t fight in MMA again and in 2021, he notified the UFC of his retirement.