Punk plans to fight again, hopes UFC doesn't cut him
For CM Punk, his journey into the Octagon was always meant to be more than a one-off.
Despite suffering a humbling loss at the hands of Mickey Gall in his MMA debut at UFC 203 on Saturday, the 37-year-old Punk sounded determined to compete again when he addressed the media at the evening's post-fight presser.
Related: Gall ends CM Punk's UFC debut with 1st-round submission
Punk's first fight lasted just over two minutes as he was overwhelmed by the more explosive Gall, an opponent 13 years his junior. It was obvious the former WWE star had bitten off more than he could chew, but that didn't deter him from discussing his potential UFC future.
"My initial venture into this was going to be at the lowest level. This opportunity just got presented to myself, I would have been a fool to say no," said Punk. "I don't know what happens from here on out. What if I get cut? I don't know. I think that's a possibility. Do I want that to happen? No. But who's to say where I go from here, I definitely want to keep going.
"I'm the kind of guy, I just fell off a bike. I'm not just going to shelve it and leave it in the middle of the street. I've got to get back on and ride."
Punk stated that he had not spoken to UFC president Dana White or any officials in between his fight and the press conference. He couldn't say when he would fight next, explaining the plan was always for him to take some time off after fixating wholly on his UFC preparation the past two years.
That uncertainty played a part in Punk pausing for a moment of reflection during his walk to the Octagon.
"I don't know if it's ever going to happen again. I didn't know at that time," said Punk. "I fully believed in myself, I knew my coaches believed in me, my team believed in me, I thought I was going to win. But even then, the scoreboard could have fallen on me.
"I don't know what's going to happen to me, I could get hit by a bus. I could die eating pizza tonight. So I just try to enjoy life, even the bad stuff. This is the bad stuff. It sounds crazy, I'm still happy. I still love it."