CM Punk Update: Former WWE Champion Spars For The First Time

CM Punk's MMA career has been progressing slowly (as it should) since the big announcement in December that he had signed with the UFC. And while some of the hoopla has died down since then, there's still a lot of interest in his activities - especially as it pertains to just how skilled he actually is inside the cage. Well, March has been another milestone month for Punk, as it appears that he has completed his first sparring session. The news was posted to Instagram by Duke Roufus of Roufusport, where Punk is currently training with the likes of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and ONE FC welterweight champion Ben Askren. The gym's founder and head coach also posted a new photo with Punk taken after the sparring session. Punk, though obviously a little tired, looks none the worse for wear. Along with the picture, Roufus included a few encouraging comments:

Proud of @CMPunk did his 1st live #MMA Sparring today. You can teach #Skill but you can't teach #Will getting better every day! He's very #Dedicated thanks to all our #Team for the support! @ufc #UFC @danawhiteufc #Roufusport #CMPunk @onnit #ONNIT

Punk has repeatedly said that he feels he could fight now, but would not be successful, and is aiming for a professional debut closer to the end of 2015. Striking is the key area in which Punk needs to improve, as he has trained in jiu-jitsu off and on for years. Roufusport houses some of the world's best strikers, meaning that repeated sparring sessions there should go a long way towards improving Punk's striking.