Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White doesn’t think that CM Punk’s next mixed martial art battle should be in the big leagues. Plenty of fans of the (real) fight game probably agree, though the former pro wrestler’s WWE fans may be quicker to forgive the former Straightedge Superstar’s debut Round 1 tap-out.
Fight Network’s John Pollock scored a few minutes with White following this weekend’s UFC 203 — here’s how he started: “In terms of the CM Punk experiment … as a promotion, was this a success? And what do you think of CM Punk after tonight?”
“Well, I don’t know if it was an ‘experiment,’” White answered. “I became friends with him, he’s a nice guy. I like him, I have a lot of respect for him. He wanted a shot, I gave him his shot.”
The interviewer then asked the exec if Punk could have his next fight in the UFC, which was recently sold to WME-IMG for a whopping $4 billion.
“He probably shouldn’t have his next fight in the UFC,” White replied. “Just like I said with Brock [Lesnar, another WWE convert] — having your first fight in the UFC is tough. And you see tonight — even if it’s against a guy who’s 2-0 — this is a tough place to learn.”
Watch the video above. Punk lost swiftly to Mickey Gall in his first pro MMA fight — and it wasn’t competitive.