Daniel Bryan and CM Punk’s UFC Opponent Trade Insults

Even though Mike Jackson spent most of UFC 225 dismantling CM Punk, Daniel Bryan is not impressed.

During an Instagram Q&A with Brie Bella, Bryan was asked if he could beat Jackson in a fight. And with little hesitation, Bryan said “I could beat him on the ground for sure. If WWE would let me fight in UFC, maybe.”

Bryan does have roots in MMA, having trained for the sport before he began wrestling. However, his proclamation didn’t take long to reach Jackson’s virtual doorstep and the 1-1 UFC fighter quickly retorted.

“Hey, @WWEDanielBryan, don’t let your mouth write a check your ass can’t cash. You don’t want to get potatoed like your mans did at #UFC225,” he wrote.

Bryan has yet to respond, but this is one of the more vacant internet feuds we’ll be exposed to this week. Under no circumstances will this beef manifest into real physicality. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not good fodder.

Maybe Jackson can make a career out of beating underqualified MMA fighters. Maybe UFC can make another cheap box office grab by nabbing Bryan for one night. Maybe CM Punk can be the Special Guest Referee.

All sarcasm aside, Bryan’s concussion history disqualifies him from any MMA aspirations. While we’re sure he’s at least a decent grappler, we’re just happy to have him back in a WWE ring.

However, if Bryan is feeling the itch to pursue a career outside of WWE, his contract does expire in September, Whole it’s safe to expect he and WWE to agree to a long deal, it still has yet to happen.

Bryan himself addressed this topic during an interview with Al Arabiya.

“No, no. I had somebody say that to me on my Twitter. They said, does your contract expire on September 23rd? And I was like, how do people even know that. But no, my contract actually runs out September 1st, which is actually the day of the All In show, but it’s funny because that doesn’t compute. I was in the Bahrain Comic-Con the last two days, and we did Q&As, and at each one, somebody asked me about that. They said, ‘are you going to be at All In’? I’m not. I don’t know what to tell you. But yeah, my contract is up September 1st,” he said.

This unresolved contract issue is said to keep Bryan in a limbo of sorts. With him not locked up, WWE reportedly has limited his opportunities on SmackDown. That, and his aforementioned concussion issues are believed to be the reason why Bryan was not included in the Money in the Bank briefcase bonanza.

[H/T ProWrestlingSheet]