Second MMA fight for CM Punk? UFC 225 booked for Chicago

The UFC have announced their first-ever pay-per-view show to be held in Chicago, Illinois for UFC 225 which takes place on 9 June at the United Center.

After five previous visits, the last one being a Fight Night event headlined by Holly Holm and Valentina Shevchenko in July 2016, the Windy City will finally have a major PPV card.

And within minutes of the announcement, Chicago native CM Punk tweeted in response with some emojis to fuel speculation of a second MMA fight.

The former WWE champion notably made his highly-anticipated debut at UFC 203 in September 2016 when he faced young prospect Mickey Gall.

In what was a debut nearly two years in the making, it did not end well for Punk as he was mauled by Gall throughout the contest, eventually being submitted by a rear naked choke submission midway into the first round.

The manner of the defeat led some to wonder if Punk would ever return to the octagon or whether the UFC could even match him up with an equal opponent. However, he remained confident of fighting in the UFC again despite being outclassed.

Punk's coach Duke Roufus, who had previously posted on social media that the 39-year-old was training ahead of a potential second fight, claimed in October that there would be news on an opponent soon.

"(UFC President Dana White) and the matchmakers had their weekly matchmaking meeting yesterday, and we'll get some news soon," Roufus said.

If Punk does end up fighting on the Chicago card, it would be a huge boost for the promotion as the former pro wrestler brings a WWE audience with him, having contributed to UFC 203 earning an impressive reported 475,000 pay-per-view buys.

In addition, it was also announced that UFC 224 will take place at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro on 12 May, marking the company's return to Brazil for a PPV event for the first time since UFC 212 in June 2017.