CM PUNK DEBUTING IN THE UFC

[NoEzMark]

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.

I know you said if but I highly doubt they go the same route they did with Brock Lesnar. That dude is a freak of an athlete that basically could've done anything contact sports related due to his size and athleticism. A true once in a lifetime type specimen.

I mean we're talking about a guy that made an NFL practice squad after leaving WWE, and he was also a former NCAA wrestling champ, and at the time had physical advantages over everyone in UFC. I mean he beat a up much smaller aging Couture for the Championship and the heavyweight division was considered very weak in comparison to other divisions at the time.

So a bit of a different situation for Punk, he hasn't won any bjj tournaments and isn't a freak of an athlete, however he is a good mic worker so I expect some good shoots and should be entertaining if it happens.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

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.

I don't disagree with you, except that Dana White had specifically said Punk will debut against a fighter with a similar record. 0-0, 0-1, 1-1 that sort of thing. He made a point to say they had no plans to "throw the kitchen sink" at him.

UFC made a huge shot in the dark with Lesnar. It was a big risk that paid off in some of the biggest buyrates in history. But he easily could have lost that second fight, flopped out of MMA and wound up back in the WWE back in 2009. Luckily he turned out to be a monster, albeit it a sick monster.

Punk is 37 and is a much bigger risk at this point, because he doesn't have the background to merit the Lesnar all-in push. They stand to look really stupid by putting a 0-0 or even a 1-0 fighter in a major PPV match. Again, they did it with Brock, but he had the amateur experience to merit it.

I think they'll play it safe at first. Which is why I recommend they put him against a rookie first, move him to a Rich Franklin or someone like Ed Herman, who has a ton of fights under his belt, but probably has more behind him than ahead.

If he can at least put up a good showing in the second match, then you match him with a money name like Michael Bisping to see if he can draw in a semi-main PPV fight, or a Fight Night main event. After three wins, if he shocks everyone (and that's a big "if" at 38 or 39 by that point) you rush a title match to feed him to Weidman for that big money.

And that's a lot of speculation and "if" assumptions. I'm assuming Weidman is still the champ after Punk fights three times. I'm assuming Punk makes it to three fights with the UFC. I'm assuming he'll draw PPV buys. All of that remains to be seen.

 

[DCLXVI]

If I remember Lesnar's first fight was Heath Herring, who was by no means a slouch but over the hill and losing a lot. Herring had a great run in Pride, etc.

Lesnar was/is a freak. I imagine CM Punk is probably a damn good legitimate fighter, but his age is against him on this. They'll have to pick his opponents very carefully... a savage guy in his early 20's who has been training for this for years would eat him alive. I hope things go Punk's way and I imagine he will do alright. Better than can be expected for a guy his age/background. He's a smart guy who does well in anything he puts his time into and if nothing else he will stir some interest/sell some PPV's.

Good luck Punk, I'll definitely watch your first fight at a bar nearby. Been a while since I've had interest in the UFC.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

He's not an athlete. He's about as athletic as the average high school football player. I'm dead serious about that. He's a great pro wrestler because he understands it and works his ass off, but he's going to get absolutely torn up i the Octagon. Look at Punk's body, look at their body. Look at how fluid (or lack of) Punk moves, and how fluid the pros move.

Here's what bugs me. He's essentially doing the same thing to better fighters that Batista/Lesnar/Rock did to him.

 

[d_henderson1810]

Punk will fail in UFC.

Have a look at him. He isn't built like a lot of the guys, and I know there are different weight divisions, but unless Punk is the top guy, he isn't happy.

He complains about injuries in WWE. Wait until he gets his face smashed in by a UFC fighter. He will be swimming in a pool of his own blood.

Besides, he will be a pain in the neck to Dana White. Look at his disrespect to anyone in authority in WWE. Why will that change in UFC? I can't see he and White getting along.

When Punk is laid up in bed, drinking through a tube, because of all his UFC beatings, he might reflect that things weren't so bad in WWE after all. Like Bret Hart, he will get a massive reality check and come crawling back to WWE. Brock did, and he actually did well in UFC.

 

[MERPER]

Punk will fail in UFC.

Have a look at him. He isn't built like a lot of the guys, and I know there are different weight divisions, but unless Punk is the top guy, he isn't happy.

He complains about injuries in WWE. Wait until he gets his face smashed in by a UFC fighter. He will be swimming in a pool of his own blood.

Besides, he will be a pain in the neck to Dana White. Look at his disrespect to anyone in authority in WWE. Why will that change in UFC? I can't see he and White getting along.

When Punk is laid up in bed, drinking through a tube, because of all his UFC beatings, he might reflect that things weren't so bad in WWE after all. Like Bret Hart, he will get a massive reality check and come crawling back to WWE. Brock did, and he actually did well in UFC.

Not that I disagree with this all but 2 things to keep in mind:

1) Dana White talked last night about how he doesn't expect Punk to do well and quite frankly, doesn't care. I think he saw a good promotional and financial opportunity and took it. He doesn't care enough about Punk to give much thought to him being a pain in the neck. At most, Punk fights 3 times in 2015 and White will make good money out of it. If he does well, they'll re-sign him and if he doesn't and he's a pain, he'll be gone.

2) As far as Punk and injuries go, not making excuses for the guy, but complaining about injuries in WWE is a different story than actually being injured. In WWE, you don't expect to get hurt seriously or often and definitely not as a result of mistakes by other wrestlers. Thus, when it happens, it comes as a surprise and angers you.

In UFC, he signed up to get beat up, therefore he expects it. He knows he's going to be hurt and get punched/kicked. Mentally, it's a big difference.

 

[laodaron]

Not that I disagree with this all but 2 things to keep in mind:

1) Dana White talked last night about how he doesn't expect Punk to do well and quite frankly, doesn't care. I think he saw a good promotional and financial opportunity and took it. He doesn't care enough about Punk to give much thought to him being a pain in the neck. At most, Punk fights 3 times in 2015 and White will make good money out of it. If he does well, they'll re-sign him and if he doesn't and he's a pain, he'll be gone.

2) As far as Punk and injuries go, not making excuses for the guy, but complaining about injuries in WWE is a different story than actually being injured. In WWE, you don't expect to get hurt seriously or often and definitely not as a result of mistakes by other wrestlers. Thus, when it happens, it comes as a surprise and angers you.

In UFC, he signed up to get beat up, therefore he expects it. He knows he's going to be hurt and get punched/kicked. Mentally, it's a big difference.

I doubt that. CM Punk came up in the Indys, the least professional level of pro-wrestling possible. Potato punches, botched blading, hardcore style wrestling, and then he complains about Ryback kicking him. I truly believe that Punk doesn't actually understand what a kick in the ribs is in real life, not in a WWE ring. He's been protected and carried his entire WWE career in the ring because he's such a good gimmick. This time, people won't care about his gimmick, they'll care that he's getting his bloody face mashed in.

 

[GI Cake]

This is a win/win for Dana White, and CM Punk. For one, Dana gets a ton of free publicity by signing another former WWE guy to his ranks. Who gives a shit if Punk is in the bad end of his 30's and littered with injuries. People are gonna want to watch him fight, (whether or not he's going to get his teeth kicked remains to be seen.) Punk marks like myself will tune in to see him win or most likely lose. For CM Punk? It's a big old middle finger to Vince McMahon that doesn't force him to do something horrifying like sign with TNA again.

 

[rge2010]

I sincerely hope that this is a humbling experience for 'Phil Brooks'. His ego has been out of control recently and hopefully someone in the UFC will put him in his place.

I do not see this ending well for Mr Brooks at all. He is 36 and never had a fight. You can excuse wrestlers like Lesnar and Lashley because they have credible backgrounds and they are big blokes who will be able to 'dish out'.

I hope for Pro wrestlings sake he doesnt disgrace himself but I wouldnt lose any sleep if he was knocked out in 30 seconds and a couple more losses followed shortly after.

 

[TheICChampion]

Maybe this means I'll finally get to see Phil Brooks vs. Jason Frank in the Octagon. Hell, I'd order that PPV just for that one fight. I'm not a UFC fan by any stretch of the imagination, but if this is the only way to see those two face off, then I'm down.

 

[DCLXVI]

Another interesting thing I ran across last night was that he was being very careful about choosing his training camp because he'd "been to gyms all over who wanted to break this 'fake wrestler guy''s arm when he was just wanting to roll and sweat"... this was before he was training for a real fight. I can only wonder how resentful fighters are of him, with guys all the way to Phil Baroni (15-18 record but I like Baroni) saying he wanted to "break his fucking neck".

 

[SinCityBlitz]

This is a win/win for Dana White, and CM Punk. For one, Dana gets a ton of free publicity by signing another former WWE guy to his ranks. Who gives a shit if Punk is in the bad end of his 30's and littered with injuries. People are gonna want to watch him fight, (whether or not he's going to get his teeth kicked remains to be seen.) Punk marks like myself will tune in to see him win or most likely lose. For CM Punk? It's a big old middle finger to Vince McMahon that doesn't force him to do something horrifying like sign with TNA again.

People didn't buy the PPV's in the WWE when Punk was headlining so what makes you think anyone would buy them now that he is in UFC? Brock Lesnar was in a whole different league because he was Brock Lesnar. Punk looks like he is a meth head.

I really don't see how it is a middle finger to McMahon. If/when he gets embarrassed the joke will be on him.

 

[Navi]

Another interesting thing I ran across last night was that he was being very careful about choosing his training camp because he'd "been to gyms all over who wanted to break this 'fake wrestler guy''s arm when he was just wanting to roll and sweat"... this was before he was training for a real fight. I can only wonder how resentful fighters are of him, with guys all the way to Phil Baroni (15-18 record but I like Baroni) saying he wanted to "break his fucking neck".

Oh I read that, Baroni is all over Twitter calling him out. He seems to have a real dislike for Punk, so this will be interesting to see if others follow suit. I doubt he will ever end up in the ring with Punk, with Baroni being retired and all.

 

[HatchetMan84]

I respect Dana White for deciding to ultimately put Punk in there against a 0-0 guy, but I say if Punk wins in convincing fashion, or even if he destroys his opponent, then he should step right up and go right after his critics.

Phil Baroni comes to mind because he is 15-18 and should not be fighting anymore. The average guy could probably beat Baroni at this point and Punk is not the average guy, so a win over a somewhat relevant guy would be the best stepping stone for his career.

I honestly say that Baroni would probably retire after being beat by Punk because for all the trash talk that he did, he will be forever known as the guy who was beat by the fake wrestler. No way he would ever be taken seriously again.

I think the Power Ranger guy could be his 2nd fight. Its as famous as that guy is ever going to be. I'm not going to be a fanboy here of Punk, but i think he will do better than what people think he will. The Gracies are no slouches and Punk has the cash to train with the best, he has already said that he wants to go to a place where they train champions, so i'd say he has as good of a chance as anybody...

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

People saying "this is a win/win" aren't really thinking. It's financially great for UFC once out of curiosity, but Punk is NOT that big of a name. Sorry, people outside of wrestling don't give a shit about Phil "CM Punk" Brooks.

What will happen is Punk gets destroyed, like, face caved in and he's wishing for his Z pack days in the WWE. Everyone says "haha see, wrestling's fake and this guy doesn't belong". Then he's not a draw anymore and he loses credibility as any kind of fighter in wrestling too.

It's pretty much all gain for one match for UFC and financially good for Punk but probably not a good career move.

 

[weghio]

People saying "this is a win/win" aren't really thinking. It's financially great for UFC once out of curiosity, but Punk is NOT that big of a name. Sorry, people outside of wrestling don't give a shit about Phil "CM Punk" Brooks.

What will happen is Punk gets destroyed, like, face caved in and he's wishing for his Z pack days in the WWE. Everyone says "haha see, wrestling's fake and this guy doesn't belong". Then he's not a draw anymore and he loses credibility as any kind of fighter in wrestling too.

It's pretty much all gain for one match for UFC and financially good for Punk but probably not a good career move.

Which is why you must at minimum acknowledge that Punk is taking a real risk here. And if you respect risk-takers (you might not, and that is fair), then it follows that you must respect him for taking this risk, especially in his mid-to-late 30's.

 

[laodaron]

Which is why you must at minimum acknowledge that Punk is taking a real risk here. And if you respect risk-takers (you might not, and that is fair), then it follows that you must respect him for taking this risk, especially in his mid-to-late 30's.

There's risk taking, and then there's desperate attempts to cling to the spotlight by people that are pathetically unprepared for the reality of what they're undertaking. I respect him for moving on from wrestling. I've always wondered why guys like Hogan or whatever cling to their prime days instead of branching out. I would respect the shit out of Punk acting, writing, drawing, stunting, whatever. This is a stupid move, imo, because people get actually HURT in MMA.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

People didn't buy the PPV's in the WWE when Punk was headlining so what makes you think anyone would buy them now that he is in UFC? Brock Lesnar was in a whole different league because he was Brock Lesnar. Punk looks like he is a meth head.

I really don't see how it is a middle finger to McMahon. If/when he gets embarrassed the joke will be on him.

You cant state that punk was the one attributed for the "poor" buy-rates of the ppv. Thats the equivalent to saying miz/rtruth were to blame for poor SS buyrates. Rock didnt even moved the needle much for the surivivor series and the rumble. Does that mean rocks not a draw? of course not.

The creative, booking, star power, lack of midcard division and the product as a whole have been medicore for years. Besides the big 3 or 4 including SS, the quality of the ppv declines annually.

Punk is now stepping into a different platform and theres going to be that curiosity and interest to see a former top wwe guy to fight in the octagon.

Punk will bring that hardcore wrestling fanbase, for the very least, to watch his first ufc fight.

 

[Rayne]

People saying "this is a win/win" aren't really thinking. It's financially great for UFC once out of curiosity, but Punk is NOT that big of a name. Sorry, people outside of wrestling don't give a shit about Phil "CM Punk" Brooks.

.....whom did you think that this move is marketed to????

MMA has been after the professional wrestling fan hot and heavy over the past five years, because as they saw with Brock Lesnar, the professional wrestling fan base will cross over and buy PPV's to see a name that they recognize. People outside of professional wrestling didn't give a shit about Brock Lesnar- and it was the people inside professional wrestling who ramped up the buy-rates on all of his PPV's.

People outside of professional wrestling not knowing who Phil Brooks is doesn't matter in the slightest, because the UFC is trying to draw over fans from inside professional wrestling- and to that extent, this venture is already a success.

(Some people might ask- no, this doesn't work the other way. MMA fans do not cross over to professional wrestling, at least not in any way comparable to how professional wrestling fans have crossed over to MMA.)

 

[rge2010]

Fake Wrestler vs Green Power Ranger.

That's gunna be a lot of butthurt UFC fans!!!!

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Until someone has actually seen CM Punk in an MMA fight, they can't say one way or the other whether he's going to do well or not. That seems self-evident but given the number of folks saying he's going to get his ass handed to him, I have to wonder what magical inside information they have.

Second, of course this is about marketing and promotion. Why is it that people are so PO'd about this move by UFC, but no one gives a shit about Punk writing a Marvel comic book despite not having any previous experience that we know about in writing or comic book art? Is it because he can be hurt in the UFC? No shit, Sherlock. What a brilliant fucking observation, I'm sure he was unaware of that. Newsflash: both moves are identical in that they are promotional. They promote Punk, and both UFC and Marvel are willing to go for it because they believe there will be a greater return on investment then not having Punk do these things. For Punk, it's a two-fold benefit. First, he gets paid and continues to be promoted. Second, he gets to do stuff that he probably likes or wanted to do.

So let's be honest: how much of this is really just about wanting to see the guy fail because you don't like him? I have a sneaking suspicion that's a lot more akin to reality here.

 

[Kidpolean]

Until someone has actually seen CM Punk in an MMA fight, they can't say one way or the other whether he's going to do well or not. That seems self-evident but given the number of folks saying he's going to get his ass handed to him, I have to wonder what magical inside information they have.

Second, of course this is about marketing and promotion. Why is it that people are so PO'd about this move by UFC, but no one gives a shit about Punk writing a Marvel comic book despite not having any previous experience that we know about in writing or comic book art? Is it because he can be hurt in the UFC? No shit, Sherlock. What a brilliant fucking observation, I'm sure he was unaware of that. Newsflash: both moves are identical in that they are promotional. They promote Punk, and both UFC and Marvel are willing to go for it because they believe there will be a greater return on investment then not having Punk do these things. For Punk, it's a two-fold benefit. First, he gets paid and continues to be promoted. Second, he gets to do stuff that he probably likes or wanted to do.

So let's be honest: how much of this is really just about wanting to see the guy fail because you don't like him? I have a sneaking suspicion that's a lot more akin to reality here.

Magical inside information they have? You dont need magically inside info. Anyone that is either a huge ufc fan or trains in mma can pretty much see what is going to happen. Punk is not good at MMA and I would bet my bank on that. His kicks look like a kick my 2 year old son would throw. Go look at a DB kick compared to Punks and tell me if you see the difference. Punk is not athletic at all. His vert is damn near non existent and most wrestlers his size are WAY faster and more agile than he is. He is freaking OLD! He isnt flexible, watch how he struggles with simple high kicks. Sure he could maybe beat some Joe off the street that has fought once or twice but any experienced fighter amateur or ufc would kick his ass. He is being cocky and will pay for it...should have stayed in his lane.

 

[Navi]

Until someone has actually seen CM Punk in an MMA fight, they can't say one way or the other whether he's going to do well or not. That seems self-evident but given the number of folks saying he's going to get his ass handed to him, I have to wonder what magical inside information they have.

You're first sentence is right. None of us have seen him in an MMA fight, we've only seen him in the WWE. But seeing him wrestle and comparing him to the UFC guys, they are faster and kick like mules. I just wonder if he's going to be able to keep up with them. The action is fast paced and he's not getting any younger.

Part of it might also be, fans were hoping to see him kiss and make up with Vince. Now that doesn't look like it's going to happen, and we will never see him back in the WWE again. He found another way to keep himself out there.

 

[Old Timer]

I dont know who he is but I read about this (I occasionally watch MMA and other combat sports) and read there that the promoter might give him 0-0 guy at his first fight so he would take a win for his first fight which is logical if he is a popular guy. Even if he loses the second, he would still have 1-1 record and so might could definitely fight at least once more

 

[DCLXVI]

I go a little back and forth about this - especially after seeing his 20 minute interview about signing. He has no misconceptions about his record, age, or any of that.

He has been getting some support from UFC guys who have taken him in and says he can beat people. He has recently had pictures posted of him training with Roy Nelson and King Mo. Once again as it has been stated, they aren't going to lead him out like a lamb to the slaughter and want to give him another newcomer. I think he'll be alright, he may not be a top fighter... but bad fighters have beaten good fighters, it happens. All it takes is one good punch connecting or making a slip up and getting submitted.

He has what looks like are going to be the best trainers around and has plenty of money/resources. Who really knows.