Former pro wrestler turned professional MMA fighter CM Punk is looking to get his first win at UFC 225, where the fighter kicks off the main card against Mike Jackson.
Some complaints have risen among the MMA community about Punk fighting on the main card while Alistair Overeem fights on the prelims, but UFC President Dana White claims the former pro wrestler outsells Overeem in PPV purchases.
“Listen, when Alistair Overeem sells as many pay-per-views as CM Punk does, we can argue,” White said at the UFC Fight Night Liverpool post-fight press conference.
Punk also competed on the main card of UFC 203, where he lost to Mickey Gall in his professional MMA debut.
A lot of big name UFC stars are competing on the UFC 225 preliminary card, but White doesn’t view it as a demotion for them in any way.
“He was ‘demoted’?,” White said. “If that’s the way you want to look at him, being ‘demoted’, what is Rashad Evans? What is Pettis? There’s guys that could be on the main card that are on the Fight Pass prelims.”
UFC 225 takes place on Saturday, June 9 from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois with Robert Whittaker and Yoel Romero headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
