Mickey Gall Says He'll Probably Fight CM Punk this Summer—But Does Anyone Still Care?

In December of 2014, during the pay-per-view portion of UFC 181, it was announced that WWE superstar CM Punk would be stepping into the UFC's Octagon for a mixed martial arts bout.

Now, check your calendar. It's late May in the year 2016, and Punk's highly publicized jump to MMA has still not occurred.

Granted, Punk has been training diligently under the tutelage of Duke Roufus, alongside beasts like Anthony Pettis and Ben Askren. It's not like he's been sitting around doing nothing. And of course, we also know who he is expected to fight when his UFC debut does finally occur. He'll be taking on 2-0 prospect Mickey Gall, who choked out ill-prepared MMA photographer Mike Jackson to earn the honor. Yet despite the fact the Punk was briefly rumored for a UFC 199 bout (a back injury nixed that plan) his long-awaited debut has still not occurred. In fact, this debut has been so elusive that it's almost become something of a joke—kind of like MMA's Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot. There are those that still believe it will happen, but the sport's more realistic fans have pretty much given up hope.

Well, as it turns out, CM Punk's hotly anticipated UFC debut might actually occur in the not too distant future. The latest piece of evidence in this regard comes from Gall, who recently took to Twitter with the following update.

Yes, according to Punk's planned opponent, the former pro wrestler's Octagon debut could happen before the summer is out. That might mean late July, that might mean August, but at least it means soon. More reassuring still is Gall's assertion that, though he can't provide an exact date for the long-awaited contest, it will happen. Neither he, nor Punk, nor the UFC has forgotten about the fight, and efforts are still being made to assure it actually goes down.

The unfortunate thing, however, is that hype has a short shelf life. The announcement of Punk's signing with the UFC is now almost two years old. And while Gall's earning the opportunity to welcome Punk to the Octagon back in February injected a little bit of hype back into the pro wrestler's debut, that new hype is likely to have diminished by late summer.

Yes, had CM Punk's UFC debut occurred in a timelier way, it probably would have generated a huge amount of buzz and contributed to a big selling pay-per-view. At this stage, however, when we've been waiting almost two years and Punk is closing in on 38 years old, the question is: does anybody still care about the pro wrestler's MMA debut? Will this crossover fight deliver as the goldmine the UFC was clearly hoping for, or will the hype have fizzled out altogether by the time it finally happens?