The UFC officially confirmed on Thursday that former WWE star Phil “CM Punk” Brooks will make his return to the octagon to face Mike Jackson at UFC 225 on June 9 in Chicago.
The fight, which will be a Welterweight bout at 170 pounds, will be the second professional fight for both Punk and Jackson on the UFC just eight weeks away.
In addition to having that in common, both Punk and Jackson experienced their first UFC loss to the same man: Mickey Gall. Jackson lost to Gall at UFC Fight Night 82 in Las Vegas, while Punk lost to Gall at UFC 203 in Cleveland. Both fights took place in 2016.
Punk and Jackson head into the fight both 0-1 in their professional careers, with having just one amateur fight outside of the UFC in September 2009 (also a loss). It isn’t known at this time if Punk’s fight will be part of the main card or preliminary fight card as the listing for the event over on UFC.com has yet to officially specify.
The fight announcement was expected after UFC President Dana White confirmed last week in Brooklyn that Jackson was scheduled to be Punk’s next opponent. Back in early March, Punk tweeted that he would be fighting again on June 9. He also teased in February that a return to the UFC was likely given that it was taking place in his hometown of Chicago.
Punk’s debut back on September 10 at UFC 203 two years ago garnered lots of media attention in the months leading up to his debut given his past popularity in the WWE. While many within the sport of mixed martial arts were critical of allowing Punk to make his MMA debut on a large platform, the show drew an estimated 450,000 buys on Pay Per View. It was among one of the highest buyrates for the UFC that year for a show not headlined by the widely popular and certified PPV draw Conor McGregor.
He's back!@CMPunk makes his Octagon return against @TheTruthJackson at #UFC225 in Chicago! pic.twitter.com/X23KgAGQOg
— UFC (@ufc) April 12, 2018