Several UFC fighters have crossed over to WWE, but not quite the opposite. Brock Lesnar was the biggest name who crossed over from WWE to the UFC. Phil Brooks, a.k.a CM Punk, followed suit, but his two-fight stint in the UFC was winless. Though initially, the two companies had engaged in only a few deals over the years, the UFC and WWE are now owned by one TKO Holding Groups.
Many consider TKO Holdings’ move to have little effect. However, CM Punk doesn’t think so. ‘The best in the world’ revealed his thoughts on the benefits of the UFC-WWE merger in a recent interview.
“There is a lot of reasons why I think the crossover between WWE and UFC is important. We’re all in the TKO umbrella, but to me what’s important about this is it brings pro-wrestling back to its roots. There’s a lot of similarities, there’s a lot of parallels, and at the end of the day we’re all brothers and sisters. We’re all fighters. So, it’s really exciting for me to see,” the 45-year-old said.
Brooks left the WWE on bad terms when Vince McMahon was at the helm but rejoined with fanfare under Paul Levesque, a.k.a Triple H. During the time away from WWE, he completed a two-fight stint in the UFC and also plied his trade at AEW.
Despite the lackluster performances inside the octagon, CM Punk earned better than most top-tier fighters, which left many long-time UFC champions, particularly Demetrious Johnson, questioning the ethos of the fight game.
Demetrious Johnson Reveals CM Punk’s UFC Pay Exceeded His Own
Demetrious ‘Might Mouse’ Johnson, the former pound-for-pound UFC king, had a tough time with the promotion. The legendary flyweight still holds the record for the most consecutive title defenses, which will likely never be broken. However, his highest purse from the UFC was a flat $380K to show and a $40K win bonus.
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Johnson spoke about this unfair practice in one of his YouTube videos, revealing that CM Punk made exponentially more than him.
“This guy was making more money than the champions in the UFC. How do I know that? Because his paycheck was bigger than mine. He was clearing $500,000…Just a big spit in the face of all the champions. But at the end of the day, it’s more of a popularity contest that gets you the money in mixed martial arts than your actual skills,” Johnson said on his YouTube channel:
‘Mighty Mouse’ parted ways with the UFC after the promotion traded him to ONE FC for Ben Askren. He is now the champion of the ONE Championship flyweight division.
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