The original Green Power Ranger, Jason David Frank, recently joined the Primo Nutmeg podcast to discuss the possibility of fighting former WWE Champion and current UFC fighter CM Punk. Frank, who has an MMA background with a 1-0 professional record, petitioned for the fight when Punk originally signed his deal with the UFC. Punk laughed off the challenge the first time around, but the former Mighty Morphin Power Rangers star believes he is the perfect choice for Punk’s next opponent.
“They would love it. If Punk fights again, everybody at the base, everybody that owns UFC wants me to fight him. If he fights again, that’s definitely something I would like to do. I got a chance to visit some of the WWE guys backstage at their shows, it’s much like the UFC. I’m not talking about the fighting, but the energy everyone puts into the show. One way or another I’d like to get involved with WWE or UFC just to please the fans.”
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Frank insists the desire to fight is more than a money grab.
“For me I’ve been fighting my whole entire life, I could do it tomorrow if I want. It’d just have to make sense why we’re doing it. What I mean by makes sense is not financially, because I’d fight CM Punk for a dollar. I would do a Power Ranger movie for nothing, I’m not financially hurt. What I’m say is if it makes sense for my fan base. Do my fans say, ‘Yes that’s what I’d like to see. Yes, I’d like to see him in Bloodshot. No I don’t like that thing he did.’ I always like going back to the fans, thinking ‘Is this something they want?’ That’s what I mean about making sense, it’s not about money at all.
CM Punk, for him it makes sense on a financial level but I’m super different from most of these people out there. I don’t care about the money, that’s why I’ve said from day one that I’d fight him for a dollar just to make the contract equal. I think that installed so much confidence in me that that scared him. Like ‘Why does this guy want to fight me for a dollar? I’m going to get my butt kicked.’ That’s kind of what happened to be honest.”
When asked if he had a personal gripe with Punk, Frank said it was just the opposite.
“Not at all. I thought the fan-base was great. Never thought he’d fight in the UFC. I got a deal a long time ago with me and him, on an NBC show my manager was pushing every – Legacy [Fighting Championship] wanted to fight Punk on Legacy. Nick actually is the match-maker now on UFC. Everybody wanted to see this fight and I picked him because I like the guy. Man he has a huge fan-base and he wants to fight. I didn’t want to pick a guy who doesn’t want to fight so I said, ‘hey he’s perfect.’ He’s 30, I don’t care, I’m 43. If he sits there and calls me an old men, well hey, you’re getting old too buddy so.
“I never thought he’d be in the UFC because they strive for perfection. There are so many people that try to get into the UFC. Out of like 600 UFC fighters, CM Punk is listed at 170 of the top paid fighters with only one fight. Then you got 3,4,5,600 people that are struggling that are really good fighters that could use or earn the money. So I was just thinking the fan-base would love it, then I talked to them about it and he’s like, ‘Yeah’ and then started saying he’s a purple belt in jiu-jitsu and I started believing him and all this stuff started to come out. I don’t know if he was just saying that to impress me at the time, or if he never thought this could possibly ever happen with us. It was very possible. I like the guy, I like CM Punk, I’d just like to show the world who is the best in the world and that’s why he and me should fight, to see who’s the best in the world.”
As ridiculous as it sounds on paper, a CM Punk vs The Green Power Ranger fight would be a draw with casual fans. According to all reports, Punk has been working hard to get back into another UFC fight; one he hopes to fair better in than his first round loss against Mickey Gall last year. Dana White has been non-committal on whether or not Punk’s next fight will happen in the UFC.
Anticipation is high for the upcoming Power Rangers reboot, as it currently sits at a 3.95 out of 5 on ComicBook.com’s anticipation rankings. Power Rangers is set to land in theaters on March 24, 2017.
If the film is as big of a hit as many expect, the UFC may want to cash in on bringing the Power Rangers and WWE Universes together.
