At the end of his fight against Mike Jackson at UFC 225, CM Punk walked out of the Octagon with another lopsided loss, bringing his record to 0-2. Admitting in a recent interview with MMA Fighting that he was nervous for this fight, he wanted to use that as motivation to have a better performance than his first-round loss against Mickey Gall in his first UFC fight.
After his loss against Jackson, social media immediately reacted, both positively and negatively. While there were people who credited Punk for going the distance, many others sharply came to the conclusion that MMA is not the sport for the former WWE Champion.
As expected, CM Punk somehow tied in his WWE lawsuit victory to his MMA fight, congratulating Jackson but stating that his record this week is "1-1."
RELATED: COREY GRAVES THROWS SHADE AT CM PUNK IN TWITTER RANT
Popular indie wrestler Joey Ryan applauded Punk for being able to live his dream twice, and said that everyone should be "lucky enough to spend at least one day of our lives living our dreams." Former Ring of Honor World Champion Cody Rhodes seconded the notion of Punk going out and chasing his dreams. Others such as Shane Helms, Tommy Dreamer, and Stevie Richards also paid their respects to Punk following the lop-sided result.
His opponent, Mike Jackson, even paid much respect to Punk, stating that he "would not be here without him.
With these positive comments come a slew of negative ones. Jim Ross stated that it was tough watching Punk's match, and he feels like his run with UFC should come to an end. WWE commentator Corey Graves used social media to express his thoughts on Punk, tying his move to MMA with betraying his pro wrestling fanbase.
Graves added in an interview with Fightful that Punk abandoned their friendship, rejecting an offer to have dinner with him before his first fight, despite them having a close friendship for many years and Graves trusting Punk to be one of the first people to hold his newborn child.
Ultimately, the biggest influence on his MMA career as a UFC fighter is Dana White. However, White made it clear that he feels Punk's UFC career should be over.
Since Punk has put pro wrestling in the rear-view mirror, at least from what he says, it looks like he has to salvage his MMA career by competing in other promotions, namely Bellator. For fans of Punk, a pro wrestling career is where he should be heading, but apparently, his interest level of making this an option is non-existent.