Before she was got in the ring as a wrestler, Cora Jade (Elayna Black on the independent scene) competed in a muay thai fight.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show, Cora recalled her experience while discussing CM Punk competing in the UFC.
"I did," Cora said when asked if she watched Punk in the UFC. "I was doing MMA at the time myself. It was right before I started wrestling training because no other place would train me. I was too young. 'I'll just do MMA for now instead.' I did Muay Thai for a little bit. It was at the time he was doing (MMA). I don't say I did it long enough to actually say I did it, but I did it for a little bit and he was doing it."
Asked if she tried combat sports because Punk was doing MMA, Cora replied, "I don't remember. I feel like I was going to do something like that in general, but him being in the UFC definitely pushed me to want to do it even more. I remember watching his fight and I took it so personal when he lost. I'm crying. Why am I crying on the couch? I thought it was cool because I also did a Muay Thai bout, and I lost too."
Cora noted it was an amateur bout and she lost by TKO.
"[Punk and I] talked about it maybe a few months ago. 'Hey, did you know I did a MMA fight too right after you and we both lost?' He's like, 'Hell yeah," she said.
Punk lost his first UFC fight by submission to Mickey Gall.
Elsewhere during the interview, Cora gave further insight into her friendship with Punk. You can find her full comments here.
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