UFC: CM Punk Too Old For MMA? Ken Shamrock Suggests A WWE Return After A Few Fights

Is CM Punk too old for the UFC? Ken Shamrock believes that Phil Brooks should just shoot for doing several MMA fights and then perhaps consider returning to the WWE or some other professional wrestling company.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, at first it was just a rumor that AJ Lee was leaving the WWE like CM Punk, but then she said, “You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone.” Although no one knows for sure what AJ was talking about, we do know for sure that CM Punk Vs. Joe Rogan match in the UFC is impossible due to drugs. Oh, and that Jose Conseco, Cathal Pendred, and many others are lining up to take a punch at Punk.

Unfortunately for CM Punk, UFC fighting requires a license and already the commission is giving him flack for his lack of experience. CM Punk has admitted that he’s still a novice at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Kempo, and has never done any real MMA sparring despite training with the Gracie gym for over four years. While everyone is already speculating about his first UFC match, some officials believe he needs to spend time doing amateur fights before he ever sets foot in the octagon.

Former UFC Superfight Champion Ken Shamrock would certainly know a thing or two about whether or not it would be advisable to stick CM Punk in the UFC. According to Shamrock, it’s best if CM Punk does start off slow instead of jumping into big matches like Brock Lesnar.

“[CM Punk] sounds like he’s got a great wrestling background, a really good wrestling background, and a guy like that — don’t give him a guy that’s a top 10 fighter. That’s not fair, but if they’ll give him a guy that’s got 1-0 as a pro, or 1-1 as a pro, and start him out right like they should have done with Brock Lesnar — They should have probably gotten [Lesnar] guys that didn’t have 15 fights, and that weren’t an ex-world champion for him to fight on his first, or second, or third fight — and groom this guy.”

Shamrock notes that many fighters have complained that CM Punk should not even be doing MMA. Instead of complaining, Shamrock suggests these fighters should be fighting their tails off to get on the undercard with CM Punk. The UFC champion also believes these complainers are not looking at the big picture, which is all about money and putting fans in the seats to build up a bigger fan base.

Other critics have pointed out that CM Punk’s age is already 36, which is way higher than practically everyone considering a UFC career. Even CM Punk has admitted this to be true, and seems to consider these future fights as a check mark on his bucket list. But Ken Shamrock believes the “too old” CM Punk still has the skills necessary to succeed.

“If I was training him, I would put my reputation on it. Especially if he’s getting the right fighter, somebody of his calibre that doesn’t have five fights or ten fights as a pro. If you’re going to give him somebody that’s around his calibre 1-0, 2-1, something where it’s reasonable. Especially with what I know about his background and what he’s done before he became a pro wrestler.”

The question of CM Punk’s age had bantamweight UFC fighter Urijah Faber claiming CM Punk should not be discouraged from going into MMA.

“A lot of this fight game, and the fighters up here understand this, is so much mental. If this guy believes he can get in here and fight, and he’s willing to put in some work, who’s to tell him he’s not the baddest man on the planet?” said Faber. “I’ve had a lot of younger fighters who are on my team go out and gotten losses and have felt embarrassed. This is the most exposed you’ll ever be in any sport. If you’re willing to fight a one-on-one fight in front of millions of people, props to the guy for wanting to put his best foot forward.”

Ken Shamrock also believes CM Punk should return to pro wrestling at some point in the future.

“I think if he brings the right people in; and I wouldn’t suggest him trying to make a long career of the UFC, at least not right now. Not until you get a couple of fights under your belt and see where you’re at. Especially at your age. But what I can see is for him to get a couple of fights under his belt, get those wins, and then his career in pro wrestling would sky rocket. But his thing is [that] he’s got a lot of people around him right now that think they know what they’re doing with him – and they may – but from what I’m hearing, they’re trying to teach him a lot of stuff. And you know I’m not going to give away my secrets, but if he brings in the right people this guy could really sky rocket his career in pro wrestling. And if chooses to move on, then he could go for one big pay day and take the shot, and then he could step away.”

In the end, CM Punk’s age is still the driving concern. Shamrock believes Punk won’t have a “long, long drive” in the UFC, but he still believes it’s possible to “make an impact in a short amount of time.”

Do you think CM Punk is too old for the UFC?