CM Punk earns $500K for blowout loss; Conor McGregor says Punk earned his respect
If people were upset before with CM Punk landing a spot on a UFC pay-per-view event with no previous MMA experience, things won’t get any better after learning how much the former WWE superstar made for losing in a two-minute drubbing at the hands of Mickey Gall at UFC 203.
According to the Ohio Athletic Commission, CM Punk earned $500,000 for his first-round submission loss to Gall. That payout was the third highest of all of the fighters who competed at UFC 203. Main event competitors Alistair Overeem ($800,000) and Stipe Miocic ($600,000) were the only fighters to earn more than the debuting Punk. This was on a card that included tenured fighters such as Urijah Faber ($160,000) and Fabricio Werdum ($375,000).
As for his opponent, Gall raked in a paltry by comparison $30,000 (includes a $15,000 win bonus) for dominating Punk over the course of the short affair.
Punk came into that fight as much as a +335 underdog, according to Sportsbook Review. However, the lack of experience and fact that he was an overwhelming underdog didn’t matter much considering how many people likely purchased the pay-per-view to see whether or not the former pro wrestler could make the successful transition into the world of MMA. Punk ultimately proved to be in way over his head at UFC 203 and got in zero offense against Gall. UFC president Dana White spoke to Fight Network’s John Pollock and suggested that Punk’s next MMA fight “probably won’t be in the UFC.”
While some poked fun at the manner in which CM Punk lost, UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor respected Punk for stepping into the Octagon.
“I’ll tell you what, fair play to him,” McGregor said to TMZ. “Because he got in there and fought, and not a lot of people do. Not a lot of people have the balls to make that walk, so fair play.”
McGregor was recently engaged in a war of words with several WWE superstars after he suggested that many of them were not as tough as they thought they were. He even went as far as to threaten to “slap the head off the entire WWE roster.” But when it came to Punk, McGregor stated that the former pro wrestler was cut from a different cloth.
“Got his ass whooped. God bless, he got his ass whooped,” McGregor said. “Those WWE guys are straight [expletive], I told you so, but he isn’t. He got in and fought. So fair play to him. Respect.”
