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List of MMA fighters calling out CM Punk includes man who played green Power Ranger

THE list of MMA fighters calling out Phil “CM Punk” Brooks includes a 41-year-old actor who played the green Power Ranger.

Jai BednallJai Bednall
@jaibednall
2 min read
December 8, 2014 - 12:26PM
Superhero Tommy from TV program
Superhero Tommy from TV program "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers". /TV/programs/Mighty/Morphin/Power/Rangers

IF the UFC wanted to avoid the signing of former WWE professional wrestler Phil “CM Punk” Brooks coming off as a gimmick, it’s off to a bad start.

Every man and his dog has been calling out Brooks since he announced his intentions to become a mixed martial artist at UFC 181 — and it’s starting to get ridiculous.

Joining the list of hopeful Brooks opponents is 41-year-old actor Jason David Frank — the man who played green Power Ranger Tommy Oliver in the mid-1990s.

“I have to do this and wake up the UFC,” Frank wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday.

“I like CM, this is just a professional call out again. This is my life and I deserve a shot at this. Haters hate, winners win. It’s a great fight, embrace, don’t hate.”

Nakia Burrise, Jason David Frank, Catherine Sutherland and Johnny Yong in a scene from the film
Nakia Burrise, Jason David Frank, Catherine Sutherland and Johnny Yong in a scene from the film "Turbo," a Ppower Rangers movie. p/. undated photo. /film /actors

Frank actually dabbled in mixed martial arts as recently as 2010 when he turned from acting to fighting with four amateur bouts taking place in Texas and Virginia.

The life long martial artist racked up four wins, finishing all of the bouts in the first round. Frank’s commitments to film projects and appearances eventually forced him to forgo a future in MMA, but the moment Brooks’ name came up on Saturday night he was chomping at the bit to get the former professional wrestler in the Octagon.

“Jason’s actually been kind of toying with the idea of fighting CM Punk for over a year now,” Frank’s manager Brian Butler from Suckerpunch Entertainment told FOX Sports on Sunday. “They toured together on the Wizard World conventions and they were doing appearances together and the fans were kind of talking about it and it got some buzz about a year ago. It never really died down, but with the announcement last night it flared back up.

“I got a text message from Jason right away saying ‘he wants to fight at middleweight, too, I’d love to do it, he got away from me’ just kind of joking around. But actually it makes a lot of sense.”

Frank isn’t alone in calling out Brooks in the past 24 hours. A host of UFC fighters, including top 10-ranked middleweight Michael Bisping, are also keen to face him in the Octagon.

Other fighters were less than impressed with the decision to sign another professional wrestler.

But there was plenty of positive reaction too, including comments from UFC women’s champion Ronda Rousey, WWE commentator Jim Ross, Brooks’s pro wrestler wife AJ Lee and another pro wrestler turned mixed martial artist Bobby Lashley.

— with Fox Sports

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/sport/sports-life/list-of-mma-fighters-calling-out-cm-punk-includes-man-who-played-green-power-ranger/news-story/e51c63e3ee5c9e4dc8ec6f8b49118cf5