CM PUNK DEBUTING IN THE UFC

[WarroBODFan]

I'm both a WWE and a UFC guy, and I'm very excited about this. Do I have my doubts about his abilities? Naturally. None of us have seen him in a legit fight. But I don't doubt he'll go into this fully motivated, and he'll train his ass off. Dana White said they'll take it slow, he'll do it properly, start off at the bottom and see how it goes.

I also genuinely believe him when he says this is something he's wanted to do for a long time, and this isn't just some promotional thing to get extra PPV buys. They'll come anyway, but I think he'll be fully invested into this and give it a proper go. Whether he feels the same way about the UFC after his first fight remains to be seen. But I say good for him.

I can only imagine how many bum/unknown fighters will be calling him out now to try and create some false beef between the two so they can be co-headlining a PPV.

 

[XXJJ]

Punk is an mma poser. He will get his ass kicked if he fights anyone decent.

I can understand why a lot of the diehard ufc fans are pissed. They are bringing in a 36 year old side show act. It's a great publicity stunt by Dana white, but it does hurt the credibility of their sport.

 

[Prince Vee]

Just look down at my signature!!
PS. I don't want him get killed :/

 

[Dave]

Wow! I just about shit my pants when I seen this. And I seen it on the UFC Facebook page, so they must be making a semi-big deal of it, I suppose.

I say good on him, actually. He is into his MMA, so maybe this was just something that he wanted to do. That said, he is likely to get absolutely murdered by almost anyone in the UFC. His MMA skills are not on the same level as even some of the more questionable UFC fighters. Yes, he enjoys MMA but most of the guys in UFC have more than one discipline. And when he goes to the ground, he is going to get absolutely mauled.

Also, he carries far too much weight to be competitive. Don't get me wrong, he is obviously a fit guy. But he isn't as cut as other people in his weight class, meaning that he is likely carrying too much weight for that weight class.

Still, he is very much an unknown quantity in the UFC, so the old is his oyster. If he puts himself into it and really gives it a good go, he could be quite successful. He could be the new hero or villain of the UFC. With all of the hype around him now, thanks to the podcast and the WWE treating him like shit, everyone will want to see this. Everyone has already nailed it, this PPV is going to break records and Vince is going to be seriously pissed that the UFC are stealing what should have been, and could have been, his buy rates.

Too bad.

 

[Reflection]

This deal has been made to exploit the current scheme of things, and will earn lots of money and publicity for both parties. CM Punk is hot right now, people want him back in action. He can compete in a sport that he loves and earn a good amount of money as well... surely more than what WWE was willing to offer. Dana White too would love the money and the wrestling audience CM Punk will draw for him. MMA fighters calling out and trash-talking Punk pro-wrestling style; I wouldn't be surprised if Punk surprisingly wins his first couple matches as well.

 

[Y2JBL]

Gotta hand it to him, surprised that he's going through with it. I thought he was just gonna keep going through life wearing his Gracie hoodie and acting like he was an MMA tough guy on Twitter.

I think a good old fashioned real fight is just the medicine needed for some people who can't get a grasp on their own ego and always act like a diva.

Not gonna lie, there's a part of me that would love to see him get taken down in a bloody heap. But I also fully invite the chance that he will have me staring at my TV in disbelief when he wins a real fight.

I always though his jiu jitsu / kick boxing background was more character gimmick than reality, and it seems hard to believe that a couple years of hard training could really have a guy ready to compete at the UFC level, but I don't know exactly how long he has been training with this serious plan in mind.

So, seeing him get punched in the face will be absolutely lovely for all the times he has treated other people like shit, but I'm totally open to the possibility that he will be successful. At least then he won't just be a mouth with nothing to back it up. It's a little easier to stomach people with extremely cocky attitudes when you at least know they can back it up.

We'll get to see if he can do anything other than block people on Twitter and complain 24/7.

 

[MCMG]

It's certainly interesting. The transition will be difficult and given his age and injury record I'm a little apprehensive. I mean, I can't imagine many 36 year olds with a history of concussions decide to take up MMA. It's risky but he'll make a lot of money and will get do something he enjoys so , why not.

Dana White isn't stupid. This will make him a lot of money because it is at a time where the UFC need big draws. The only problem is how many fights he can get out of him. If you try to build him up against ordinary fighters that's fine but it will take a while. Indeed, what if he has already lost several times before a BIG fight.

It will definitely be interesting to see how the PPV buys are. The WWE seem to think the PPV market is dying - I get the impression UFC do too so it is definitely interesting. The UFC are kind off in a similar situation to the WWE. They need/want big draws but it takes time to develop them. The big hope for Punk in the UFC is ,like Brock, he gets a huge number of eyes on the product and they stick around.

 

[supernatural1981]

The one name i haven't seen mentioned yet is chael sonnen. The guy is a really good friend of punk's and he is a former UFC star who knows how the UFC machine works.

He could be involved with training punk with the ground style of things and we know punk is into Gracie Ju Jitsu as well so the training side of things might already be handled.

Do i think punk will do well in UFC? possibly depends on how he gets built up.

Do i think he will win a title? No chance but he might surprise me.

Either way Dana White must be getting excited by the thoughts of the PPV buys just by the amount of people who are talking about punk's signing already.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Here's the thing... Phil is a smart guy, smart enough that he knows his name and being on whatever debut card is going to sell a lot more PPV's than UFC normally do so he can and probably has done a deal based on that show. If it sells, then Dana gives him a bigger deal but it's likely he'll get a cut this time out rather than a "contract" like Brock did.

Brock lost his first fight, so it means Punk can easily lose this one and not have it affect what UFC does with him going forward. Indeed, all Punk needs to do is show in in good shape (which he doubtless will) and get offense in. The only way it fails is if he is down in seconds.

If he wins, he then has a platform to build and UFC benefit and he has that control then Brock had. The division, be it Welterweight or whatever then to an extent becomes built around him and his quest for the title, he knows how to work that angle well from WWE.

When all is said and done it gets it out the way for him, if he bombs, he bombs... but he can say he did it. More likely, as Dana has said it'll be two rookies, so it means he has a 50/50 chance, it won't be like Batista where it was clearly a handpicked opponent. Worst case he does UFC for a year, can say he did it and goes back to his "retirement" with more money than when he joined UFC. From UFC's perspective it's a great steal that will help them build their business and get people used to "fake" wrestlers again before Brock inevitably returns later in the year.

Is Vince going to be happy about it? Hell no, but the writing was on the wall the moment he mentioned how "easy" it was to get out of his no-compete clause on Colt's show. Those literally have no meaning now and Vince is gonna have a hard time enforcing Rey staying or anyone else who wants out. In a roundabout way, Punk is still forcing the change he wanted. Vince is gonna hate seeing a UFC show with his "Double Main Event" concept and 2 of "his" guys headlining that show in those matches... but it's going to happen and it's going to force Vince to up his game.

Whether he wins the fight or not, CM Punk has just lit a fire in UFC and may well have "saved" the WWE from mediocrity. UFC IS competiton now, real competition and Vince will either accept it and compete, or deny it and see more of his guys defect.

 

[Dave]

The one name i haven't seen mentioned yet is chael sonnen. The guy is a really good friend of punk's and he is a former UFC star who knows how the UFC machine works.

He could be involved with training punk with the ground style of things and we know punk is into Gracie Ju Jitsu as well so the training side of things might already be handled.

Do i think punk will do well in UFC? possibly depends on how he gets built up.

Do i think he will win a title? No chance but he might surprise me.

Either way Dana White must be getting excited by the thoughts of the PPV buys just by the amount of people who are talking about punk's signing already.

This is a really good point actually. And, when I thought about who Punk would mirror in the UFC, Sonnon was the first guy that came to mind. Both guys have pretty similar personalities, so I could definitely see those guys being friends. What's more, I could definitely see Punk being the guy who puts a cat amongst the pigeons in the UFC; such is his talent when he talks.

That said, I am no expert in MMA. Sure, I watch it from time to time, but wouldn't Punk's weight put him in the Heavyweight category? Correct me if I am wrong but isn't Punk like 99 kilos? That would make his targets Cain Velasquez and the like? I'm sorry, but no amount of training is going to make Punk successful at that weight class, the other competitors are just far too big naturally, and far too strong. If Punk can cut, and I mean really cut to get down to light-heavyweight, maybe he can be a little more successful.

Don't get me wrong, I am not writing him off by any means. He could go there and be really successful. I am just worried about his reputation and his health at this point.

 

[BestWrestlingOpinions]

First of all, it is probably the smartest sign from Dana White business-wise. Punk is white hot now covered everywhere. Punk is getting mainstream attention and now he signed to the UFC, getting even bigger reactions. Most wrestling fans will watch at least his debut match. Money making for both sides.

As far as the product goes, I'm excited I get to see Punk on TV again. Now, as far as him holding his own right there, he wouldn't do this if he wasn't convinced that he can win. He is gonna fight a guy who has similar records to him, so he won't be in a disadvantage. He has been training for some years now and I think he will be good there. Time will tell. Thing is, whether it's fake or not, wrestling does help. Taking bumps every night for 15 years hardens the body and makes you more resistant to pain.

We can't say anything, but it is definitely an intersting and fun choice for him and he does what he likes. Who knows, he might get big there and then get the Lesnar treatment. Haters can suck on that by the way. Punk is white hot and that bothers A LOT OF people.

 

[Jonyboyuk2]

Hmm I think this is a risky situation. CM Punk is got his ass kicked by Teddy Hart once! I do not think he will hang with the UFC guys; he's not a young guy anymore either. Plus if he loses and cannot return to UFC; his WWE career will be damaged.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm pretty sure MMA fans will know who CM Punk is just as well as they knew who Brock Lesnar was. After all, Brock Lesnar had been gone from WWE for years before he signed with UFC and the fact that he was a major star in WWE was repeatedly mentioned. Punk's been a huge star in WWE and the controversy surrounding Punk & WWE has been a constant topic of discussion since he walked out last January. If anything, Punk's probably far more well known now than Brock Lesnar was when he signed with UFC. I'll be surprised if Chael Sonnen isn't in Punk's corner or helping to train him or is involved in some capacity. They both have similar personalities, both love to talk, both can talk on the mic.

I hope he does well, though I've no idea how this will play out. Punk does have some martial arts training and does have some ability in mat wrestling, but there's no way to ultimately know how well he'll do until it happens. My first instinct was to chuckle at the notion because part of me thinks its absurd and that he's heading into a midlife crisis a few years early. After all, Punk's 35 years old, he's spent almost his entire adult life as a professional wrestler and he's only now deciding to get into mixed martial arts even though he's never had an MMA fight. Punk's still a young man in life as a whole, but he's pretty old when it comes to being a competitive fighter. By the time most MMA fighters, kickboxers, boxers, etc. are in their mid 30s, they're past their prime physically if they've been doing it for a long time. Now while Punk hasn't had to endure the wear & tear fighters endure over prolonged time in their sport, he's had to endure the wear & tear of pro wrestling. Within the past few weeks, we've heard Punk go on & on about how banged up his body is, how he was working while he was injured, etc. so the guy's no spring chicken.

I have a feeling that, at the end of the day, Punk's looking for a big payday and this could possibly deliver. For his first fight, they may wind up sticking him up against some scrub or some washed up, over the hill nobody in the hopes of people tuning in just for the novelty of seeing CM Punk in an MMA fight. No matter which way you slice it, even if it's a nobody or someone well known, Punk could come out of it with egg all over his face. If he loses his first fight, it'll be embarrassing, especially considering how big Punk's ego & mouth are. Regardless of that, Punk's smart enough to know that people will by the ppv to see how he does. Some will want him to do well and some will want him to get his ass kicked but the point is that they'll pay to see him regardless.

 

[ghost94]

Jesus Christ seriously. LMAO Well the guy has balls. Too bad he's going to lose them in his first firght. I wouldn't have even thought he would have headed that way, but maybe it will be interesting to watch what happens. You never know he might surprise everyone, including himself.

I've qualified for National Olympics twice in Taekwondo and I wouldn't take a swing at Punk. Calling it now. He'll win his first fight in a domination.

 

[Christian Faith]

I'm actually pretty happy with this news...

Maybe now they'll be a few less CM Punk threads on here for one thing and the chants will stop?

He's gone. Finished. Time to get over him!!

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

At the end of the day, even if he gets killed Dana White would be stupid not to sign him. They'll give him as much time as he needs to make sure he's healthy, he's trained as best he can, and they'll pick him another rookie fighter to even the playing field.

It helps that he's trained with the Gracie family, and he's good friends with guys like Chael Sonnen. As far as "fake wrestlers" trying to be real fighters, Punk probably has a better chance than most at winning a fight in the UFC. I'm not saying he's going to be the next Middleweight champion, but I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up and silences some critics.

The biggest battle at this point is age. There are older fighters out there, but not many of them started at 0-0 at 36-years-old. Brock Lesnar was 30 when he had his first pro MMA fight, but his brief WWE career also didn't take near the toll that Punk's has on the body. You're looking at a division with relatively young talent, and a champion that's 30-years-old with a 12-0 pro record in just 5 years.

As I said, UFC would be burning money not to sign him to at least 2 fights. If he shows up and gets destroyed, they'll release him in two years and be satisfied with the truck load of PPV buys he'll bring in. This will easily be the biggest rookie fight in the history of MMA. I can't honestly remember a 0-0 fighter making his debut on UFC pay-per-view; even Brock had the one Dynamite USA fight under his belt, and he was the exception, not the rule.


Bottom line - Punk is good for business. He's not going to get a title shot in 2016, but he'll draw money and get to live out a personal dream and do something that's really cool for him and the millions of Punk fans out there that want to see him continue to perform in some capacity. And who knows...stranger things have happened. If he dominates his first fight, they'll give him a better opponent. If he beats somebody with a halfway decent record, they'll give him an established name. There's not exactly a deep money pool in the Middleweight division right now. In a perfect world, where you "never say never", he's maybe three wins away from a title shot simply because CM Punk vs. Chris Weidman would do insane PPV buys.

 

[stingray11214]

Let's be real here, Dana White is not a stupid man. Granted, Punk will be great for business. However, White is not in the Roman Gladiator business and signs people just to get killed. No way would White have signed Punk without talking to the Gracies about him. No way does Punk get signed if the Gracies did not say he would be OK in the Octagon. White would have been far smarter to put Punk into the Ultimate Fighter series, but I digress.

What I am worried about is White giving Punk the "Kimbo Slice" booking treatment, and put him up against tomato cans. The problem with this is that this strategy can easily blow up in their face. Now, I do not mean Slice while he was in the UFC, but Slice when he was the "cornerstone" of EliteXC. Seth Petruzelli, anyone?

 

[Trance Metaphor]

Man, I don't care what anyone else says. I hope CM Punk succeeds in UFC and actually does end up winning his fights. If some kind of crazy turn of events happens and he does end up getting a title shot, I hope he wins it. It might be unlikely, but I can't say it's impossible either. That would be a major highlight in his career. Only he and Brock Lesnar would be former WWE Champions that held a UFC title until further notice.

 

[Kidpolean]

Punk is not very athletic and is pretty uncoordinated to be honest. His strikes he uses in matches look terrible, I know he's not trying to throw real kicks but that shouldn't make his form look completely terrible. Nothing he has ever done in a WWE ring from an athleticism standpoint or striking standpoint would suggest that he could even hang with ufc scrubs. Punk will get his ass kicked and maybe learn a lesson from this. I really dont want to see him go out like this. Should have stayed at home and enjoyed life.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I wish him luck in this but let's face it, As far as Dana White is concern this was a publicity stunt no matter how you put it plain and simple and i don't blame Dana for this because let's face it, if i in his position, i would have done the same thing. UFC have been stuggling lately and don't have a lot of big name guy in the company, they've got bellator breathing down there neck and he doesn'T know for sure if he'S going to be able to get Brock Lesnar back after his wwe contract is over.

So the best move for Dana white was to hire the most talk about guy on the internet right now and that'S CM Punk and that'S a smart move because when Punk will finally be ready to fight and let's hope that it not going to be to long before is first fight because they need to get capitilize on the momentum this brought, when that happens it will probably be a really big money event for UFC and that'S what they need right now. So let's hope for everyone involve that this work and let'S hope punk is able to make it in UFC.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

I would love Bisping vs Punk but we will likely see a chump. Jason David Frank (Green Power Ranger) has been calling him out for years , lets make the fight happen

 

[NoEzMark]

TBH I doubt he even fights. The guy was just on a podcast complaining about how banged up he was, I wonder if he realizes that preparing for a fight is a lot more stressful getting cardio, making weight, sparring with ppl that actually hit you, it's a lot more than just rolling a few rounds of jiu jitsu.

Also bit hypocritical, complains about how guys like Rock, Lesnar etc. stole his main event spot and didn't deserve it over him or other guys working their asses off everyday and then pulls this crap. Cmon Punk

Calling it now, claims injury right before the fight and takes Chael's spot on UFC broadcast.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Bottom line - Punk is good for business. He's not going to get a title shot in 2016, but he'll draw money and get to live out a personal dream and do something that's really cool for him and the millions of Punk fans out there that want to see him continue to perform in some capacity. And who knows...stranger things have happened. If he dominates his first fight, they'll give him a better opponent. If he beats somebody with a halfway decent record, they'll give him an established name. There's not exactly a deep money pool in the Middleweight division right now. In a perfect world, where you "never say never", he's maybe three wins away from a title shot simply because CM Punk vs. Chris Weidman would do insane PPV buys.

Punk's 2nd fight, if he winds up having one, could depend upon a few factors.

1. The quality of his first opponent and the quality of his performance against said opponent - IF they go with the formula they used with Brock Lesnar, Punk's first fight could be against someone with a pretty solid record but isn't a mega star. In Lesnar's UFC debut, his opponent was Frank Mir and Mir had a record of 10-3. Mir had also been former UFC Heavyweight Champion but lost the title in his first defense, which happened to be his first fight in fairly close to 2 years. If Punk fights as a middleweight, I could see his first fight being against someone with a respectable career in UFC but who also, probably, has the best days of their career behind them like Michael Bisping, Rich Franklin, Lyoto Machida and a few others. If Punk fought any of them and won, it'd be a pretty meaningful win as they've all had a good deal of success in UFC.

2. How much money the ppv draws - Brock Lesnar's debut bout took place at UFC 81 and was advertised as a double main event, the other main event being Tim Sylvia vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and it drew 600,000 ppv buys. If Punk's debut does draws that or more and he has a strong showing, it's possible they could hotshot him straight into a title shot very quickly. After Lesnar's first fight in UFC, which he lost, he was put up against Heath Herring, who was pretty much a nobody, he won that fight and found himself facing Randy Couture for the UFC Heavyweight Championship 3 months later.

 

[JoeFromTomsRiver]

I would love Bisping vs Punk but we will likely see a chump. Jason David Frank (Green Power Ranger) has been calling him out for years , lets make the fight happen

The UFC may have a PPV match between a 36 year old pro-wrestler who has zero credentials and a 41 year old Mighty Morphin Power Ranger who has fought 4 times in the lowest possible level of MMA fights.

If you're not a UFC fan, you have no idea how this is being received by hard-core fans.

Wrestling fans had fits when a big-name, successful pro-wrestler returned to his own business and was given a spot he didn't really deserve because he was a "Part-timer". Batista. He was just coming back to the business that made him. And a lot of the IWC were basically "insulted" by the whole thing.

Now compare that to CM Punk, a guy who made his name pretending to fight, is getting onto a UFC card for good money, when the UFC should only be concerned with the BEST FIGHTERS IN THE WORLD.

To them, this is spitting in their faces and making a mockery of their sport, just to spike a PPV or two. They don't appreciate the fact that it draws attention to a stale product, because they would prefer to stay in decline than put a WRESTLER, who has never had a fight, in a UFC PPV fight.

I say it's only one fight on any of 12+ PPV's they have a year. It does not reflect poorly on the rest of the card. I look at it as an "exhibition" or attraction match, and not where he can even ever be near "rankings". His presence there is not preventing a deserving guy to get a shot on a UFC card somewhere.

I think this is a much bigger risk for CM Punk's "brand", than it is a black eye on the UFC. He could come out of this looking really bad. He could basically be a national laughingstock. The guy who was the longest reigning WWE Champion of the past 20 years tapped out in 30 seconds in his first and only real fight. Punk's got serious balls.

 

[wwelory619]

Just read WWE's comments about him signing and they are hilarious! "WWE wishes Phil Brooks (aka CM Punk) the best in his new endavours". Best butt-licking I have ever seen. I hope Punk makes a good career out of MMA (UFC) and hell, maybe he will use his "Anaconda Vice"!