CM Punk’s MMA Coach Comments On How Much He Has Improved Since UFC Debut

Former WWE Champion CM Punk is expected to make his mixed martial arts (MMA) return at UFC 225 on pay-per-view (PPV) in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois on June 9th. There has been a ton of speculation that fellow 0-1 record-holder Mike Jackson will be his opponent, however, nothing has been officially confirmed as of this writing.

Punk made his debut at UFC 203 in September of 2016 when he took on Gracie jiu-jitsu brown belt Mickey Gall in welterweight competition. “The Cult Of Personality” was immediately taken down, battered on the ground, before subsequently being choked out via rear-naked choke. Punk’s coach, Duke Roufus, recently joined The Luke Thomas Show on SiriusXM Rush 93 to offer his thoughts on Punk returning to the Octagon.

Roufus said that he believes Punk will be “200 percent” better upon returning to the cage. Punk will have had two more years to hone his craft when he returns to fight in June (quotes via MMA News):

“200 percent [better]. I’m not even his coach. We were friends first before we did this. I would not do this with anyone else except for my friendship with him from before he decided to fight. He’s just one hell of a guy. He’s a celebrity but he’s different than a lot of celebrities I know. Great guy. He works his ass off. He’s very well-liked on our team and he’s improved a lot.”