UFC Champ Jon Jones Hopes CM Punk Gets Knocked Out In His UFC Debut
Apparently UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones isn’t a fan of the UFC signing former WWE wrestler CM Punk, and he hopes that the UFC will match CM Punk up with a “real opponent” so he can watch the former WWE champion get knocked out.
“I just think it’s unfair for the people who have been working their tails off to earn this opportunity. That’s why I really hope UFC gives [CM Punk] a real opponent so we can watch him get knocked out.”
CM Punk and Jon Jones do have a bit of a history, as Punk — who is famously straight-edge — was very critical of Jones after Jones received a DUI back in 2012.
After the UFC announced the signing of CM Punk earlier this month at UFC 181, Jon Jones mocked the signing by tweeting that he was going to be headlining WrestleMania 31.
BREAKING NEWS: I'm headlining wrestlemania 31.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) December 7, 2014
There’s probably nobody in the UFC more polarizing than Jon Jones, and his comments about CM Punk are exactly that. There are a lot of “MMA purists” who hate that the UFC would sign a WWE guy with no experience. However, those are the same people who hated the UFC bringing in Brock Lesnar back in 2008, and Lesnar became the biggest star in UFC history, and could be on his way back to the company in 2015.
Everybody expects CM Punk’s first fight in the UFC to be a big money ticket, and if he wins, and wins impressively, he could end up surpassing Brock Lesnar as the biggest pay-per-view draw in UFC history.
Speaking of big money tickets, Jon Jones is set to take on Daniel Cormier this weekend at UFC 182, in what is the most anticipated bout since the Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva rematch took place one year ago. The UFC has been positioning Jon Jones as the heel [bad guy] in their pre-fight packages, as number one contender Daniel Cormier is coming off as extremely likable, and is, without a doubt, the fan favorite going into this fight.
When the UFC announced the CM Punk signing, Daniel Cormier immediately recruited CM Punk to join the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, which is where Cormier trains. Punk ultimately decided to train at Roufusport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility of him training at AKA in the future.
CM Punk will likely be in attendance at this weekend’s UFC 182, which will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card begins at 10 p.m. eastern time.
[Images via 5th Round and WWE]
