CM Punk Injury: Updates on UFC Star's Shoulder and Return

Joseph ZuckerOct 5, 2015

The UFC has yet to announce when CM Punk will make his debut, and the former WWE star will have to wait to get his mixed martial arts career underway after suffering a shoulder injury in training on Oct. 5.

Continue for updates.

Punk Comments on Shoulder Injury

Monday, Oct. 19

CM Punk discussed his shoulder injury with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (via Marc Raimondi of MMAFighting.com), saying he "dodged a bullet." Punk said the injury "was one of those pops where everybody in the room just turns and looks."

He went on to describe how his rehab has gone since suffering the injury: "I'd be fine if I could train, if I could do something. But just kind of sitting around waiting for the MRI that week was pretty miserable. Riding the bike hurt. Jumping rope hurt. But it's a lot better now."

Punk plans to begin "bag work," per Raimondi, who added Punk will get back to full-time training "soon."

Punk "50 Percent" of the Way to Being Ready for UFC Debut

Monday, Oct. 5

Punk's trainer, Duke Roufus, confirmed Monday the 36-year-old injured his shoulder while training, per ESPN.com's Brett Okamoto:

"
He got caught in a scramble, so right now he's taking a little time off. He was doing great before that. His progress has been good. He's got a great attitude and he's a hard worker. ... Our biggest thing is we want him to 101 percent before [we resuming training]. We don't have a hard date for his fight to force the issue, so making sure he's completely healthy is possible.
"

Roufus went on to say Punk could have his first UFC fight in six to 10 months.

Speaking with TMZ in June, UFC President Dana White said Punk could have his first fight in "early 2016" but didn't commit to any specific date.

While you can understand Roufus' desire to wait until Punk is 100 percent ready for the UFC, Punk turns 37 years old Oct. 26. He can ill afford to wait much longer before his official introduction to the Octagon.