Each week, ESPN.com writer and MMA Live Extra analyst Brett Okamoto provides his take on the hottest topics in the world of mixed martial arts.
This week, Okamoto squares off with UFC welterweight CM Punk to debate the latest news and trends. Punk, 37, who has been training at Roufusport Academy in Milwaukee for over a year, is hoping to make his UFC debut in July.
1. Where does Dominick Cruz's successful return to a UFC title rank all time in terms of greatest individual accomplishments?
CM Punk: I think it's amazing what the guy did, coming back from three ACL tears and the torn groin. Even if he had lost the fight, I would be touting the guy. It's just inhuman. I love that. That's what I love about this sport. Anybody who can triumph in that manner, that's a real man right there. It's up there. When you think about title lineage, he never really lost the belt. He's been the bantamweight champion for what, five years? That's f---ing amazing.
Okamoto: That's a hard thing to rank -- accomplishments. Could refer to one fight or a streak that lasted 10 years. I guess, what I'd say is that watching Cruz come back -- and still move like his old self -- that's top five, most amazing things I have ever witnessed covering this sport. I can't imagine the mental toughness it's taken during the last four years to make that possible. It's etched itself into MMA history. Cruz will never be forgotten after this. He's an instant legend.
2. Who should Cruz fight next?
CM Punk: The rematch question. Should Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm do an immediate rematch? Should Jose Aldo get a rematch? I'm not the biggest fan of immediate rematches unless there's, like, huge circumstances behind it. Obviously, a guy like Anderson Silva gets an immediate rematch. Also, I don't know if it bodes well for the fighter to get an immediate rematch. It might be better for them to go and fight somebody else before they go back and fight the champion. Obviously, I understand the concern with that is, well, what if you lose? Dillashaw is a great fighter. I thought it was an amazing fight. I would watch a rematch in a heartbeat, but I kind of want to see Cruz go on and fight somebody else. As far as who that would be? I'm not really sure. You hear (flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson) wants to move up. That's kind of a rematch too, but from years ago.
Okamoto: Not Dillashaw. I feel awful as I say that, because Dillashaw didn't really lose that fight. It basically came down to a coin flip. One round, on one judge's card. That's it. As far as the scorecards are concerned, that's what decided this fight. Dillashaw is clearly better than anyone else in the division. He is the one who deserves it the most -- but you can't have Cruz come back after that kind of layoff and fight the same guy twice in a row. You just can't do it. I'm eager to see how quickly Cruz comes back, how the foot injury he described on Sunday heals up. I think his next fight will be against Urijah Faber.
3. How much do eye pokes hang over Travis Browne's TKO win against Matt Mitrione last weekend?
CM Punk: I think it definitely factored into the outcome, but there's been plenty of other fights that have gone that way. I'm kind of confused why all of a sudden they're making a big deal out this one. Guys get poked in the eye all the time. I was there was a way to stop it. I love Mitrione. I love watching both of these guys fight. I think the reason it's a big deal is maybe a matter of Mitrione being on his last fight in the UFC. We don't know if he's ever going to fight again. He got severely injured. That second poke, the outrage comes from that the referee should have stopped the fight again. Mitrione did what he had to do. You're in a fight, you can't just call timeout.
Okamoto: Not much, honestly. It's still a win on his résumé. It will be treated like a win in terms of the UFC booking his next fight. His decision to go after Mitrione after the eye pokes didn't win him a ton of fans, but let's be real. We're talking about a sport where it's usually more lucrative to be a villain than a hero. I blame the referee more than Browne for what happened in this fight. Get control of it. Gary Forman essentially ignored Browne's first poke and outstretched fingers until the second foul. Then didn't stop the fight immediately after the second foul. That's a fail.
4. BJ Penn has decided to come out of retirement. What is a fight that makes sense for him at this point?
CM Punk: It's BJ Penn. I'd watch him fight anybody. I've have to sit here and think about who would be entertaining. You know, they're all legacy fights now for BJ. I'd like to watch him fight somebody where there is a little bit of beef, so to speak.
Okamoto: No fight makes more sense to me than Diego Sanchez, but now Penn has aligned himself with Sanchez's home base of Jackson-Wink MMA. This Nik Lentz feud is strange. I have nothing against it, it's just weird to me. This beef is about Mike Dolce and poems? I mean ... what? I actually wouldn't be adamantly against Penn coming back if I knew he'd be motivated and train properly but he wasn't even able to guarantee that during his prime. In a weird way, Penn vs. Sage Northcutt is simultaneously the best and worst idea ever.
5. How many UFC titles will Conor McGregor hold at the end of 2016?
CM Punk: He's talking about winning three titles now, is he? I'll say one. I don't know what's going to happen with the whole 'two belt' thing. The UFC has never really let a guy hold two titles. Normally, if you're moving up or down weight classes, you kind of have to forfeit one of them so the title will stay active. But, if he's going to be active, I say give him a shot do it. We'll see. I'll say one.
Okamoto: Gonna go with Punk, here. One. Whether that's because he loses to Dos Anjos and goes back to 145 or beats Dos Anjos and is forced to vacate the featherweight championship -- that I'm not sure of. But I see one, not two. Actually, zero is probably more likely in the long run than two. McGregor controlling two titles simultaneously 11 months from now is something I just don't see happening. Of course, who am I to challenge the word of a guy who's done exactly what he says he's going to do, ever since signing with the UFC?
