CM Punk Lost First MMA Scrimmage Fight, Trainer Comments On His Progress

Earlier this week, CM Punk fought his first MMA “scrimmage” bout at the Roufusport training camp. Punk’s head trainer Duke Roufus spoke to Brett Okamoto at ESPN.com earlier today to discuss the fight and CM Punk’s progress thus far.

Rufus said the fight was not scored, but Punk would have lost if it was.

“We created a crowd scenario,” Roufus said. “All our students got a chance to watch him and were cheering him on. [UFC lightweight champion] Anthony Pettis was in Punk’s corner. There was a lot of hooting and hollering. We tried to make a little Thunderdome the best we could.”

“He did pretty good against a guy who is 4-0. Did he win the match if we had scored it? No, he did not – but that’s cool with him. He likes the struggle. There are certain people who enjoy going into the fire and becoming a phoenix. Most people like to avoid that fire.”

Despite the fact that Punk came up short, Roufus said Punk’s striking ability and conditioning surprised him.

“I was surprised with his natural aggression in striking,” Roufus said. “That’s an unknown thing about striking; it’s that sometimes you can teach someone all the tools of the trade, but if they don’t have a trigger finger and the ability to throw under fire, it just doesn’t matter. I was looking for instincts, and he didn’t cave under pressure.”

* PHOTO of CM PUNK’s First MMA Scrimmage Fight