CM Punk Joining The UFC Is Ironic & Hypocritical

[laodaron]

If you think that CM Punk won't be the most billed fighter on his respective card, then I've got a bridge to sell ya.

But it doesn't matter, UFC isn't like WWE in that respect. What he's doing is taking away a paycheck from a guy who has put in infinitely more time and energy and life into this sport than Punk could ever imagine. Punk wouldn't even get into shape for a fake sport that only asked that he be moderately toned.

 

[OYDK]

The comparison would be if Overeem or whoever is on top of UFC would come in and fight someone like Adrian Neville, once he is called up. NOTHING will happen. No spotlight will be taken from the main top stars. Both guys will have a minimal record on the main leagues and they will just get a midcard match, where it will be the highlight of the show, because Alistair Fkn Overeem will be competing in it. The WWEWHC match will still be there for the main stars.

Yes but what happens when it's revealed Overeem is being payed more than anybody else on the roster FOR that one match with Adrian Neville? Isn't that what Punk was most pissed off about? That he wasn't making the same payday as the Rocks or Lesnars of the world, when in actuality he will be doing the exact same thing. You think Punk signed a contract for $10,000 a fight? I HIGHLY doubt that. I bet he'll be making over 200k per fight, which again is CRAZY for an inexperienced amateur.

Also, nobody gives a shit that he's not taking the "main spot"... the point is he IS taking SOMEBODY's spot who actually worked their ass off for JUST that one undercard fight. You think it's so easy to get into the UFC man? Some guys kill themselves trying to get an undercard fight in the UFC and Punk is handed it with no experience. That's hypocrisy. Even worse than hypocrisy imo since Rock and Brock had actually earned their spot on the roster.

Sorry if I'm getting a little heated, it's just that I have competed in MMA and the way some people talk, it's like it's the easiest friggin thing in the world to make it to the UFC... which it's not. It's nearly impossible.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Is it really hypocritical to realize that the world isn't going to just reward you for hard work, and that you have to self-promote in order to REALLY grab the brass ring? (with all due respect to Vince McMahon).

You missed the point entirely and just happened to gloss over that Punk's ultimately doing the EXACT same thing he's bitched openly about for years: someone using their celebrity status to negotiate a big money deal while stepping on the toes of others already on the roster.

Is Calling someone a hypocrite is the same as saying things change...just a different way to look at it. If you don't see a situation changing, and you are not adjusting to that realization, then you're being foolish. I don't think there's a single person on that roster who wouldn't have taken The Rock or Lesnar's deal had they been in the same position, and that includes John "Wrestling is my life" Cena. Punk's created a situation where he stands to make a lot more money for himself, doing something different, and being a bit more in control of his own destiny.

No matter how you want to dress it up, Punk's done what he's openly criticized Brock Lesnar, The Rock and WWE management for. I don't hold it against him for moving on with his life or anything, but it's still hypocritical. Whatever the whole story is between Punk and WWE management, whether Punk's 100% justified or not, his deal with UFC is exactly the sort of thing he himself complained about in WWE. In some ways, it could be argued that this is an even worse situation because unlike Rock & Lesnar in WWE, Punk has absolutely zero experience as a mixed martial arts fighter. Yet, he's gotten himself what'll almost certainly amount to a big money deal while stepping on the backs of a lot of guys who're on the UFC roster, who've tried to get on the UFC roster and/or who've devoted their lives to mixed martial arts.

I'm not saying Punk shouldn't do what he feels is right for himself, we all have to do that when it's all said and done, or for his family. As to whether or not anyone else in WWE would want the sort of deal that Rock & Lesnar has, they most likely would. However, how many of them do we know that've openly complained or have complained at all apart from CM Punk? So for Punk to ultimately turn around and do the same thing, just with a mixed martial arts company instead of a wrestling company, just gives the impression that all the stuff about standing up for the guys in the locker room and all that was just bullshit and that it was really all about Punk just wanting to be THE star, THE top guy and everyone else can go piss up a rope.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Not trying to be a douche and please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't all UFC fight cards PPV's?

Not all of them. They have televised events called UFC Fight Night anywhere from 2 to 4 times a month airing on Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 or UFC Fight Pass. As with wrestling cards, these events don't usually have the same sort of high profile fights as they can be seen for free on television. To my knowledge, there are no titles defended on Fight Night cards, or they're defended extremely rarely. Then you have the occasional UFC on Fox specials that air once every 4 months or so.

 

[snazzy]

He already admitted that "the irony isn't lost on me". He knows and is man enough to admit it, so it's not really an issue for me.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2014/12/...lete-matt-brown-response-video-interview-news

 

[RedRegan1005]

Wow. In all honesty I saw the thread title and expected to totally disagree...Then I read the OP and I was just like...well damn...He's right.

I totally understood why Punk use to say it was unfair for big part time guys to steal spots from full time wrestlers, and I can totally understand why other mixed martial artists thinks its unfair for Punk to get a UFC deal when he's 36 and has no fighting experience, compared to someone in their 20's whose been training to get to UFC for a long time.

In the end though, one big thing WWE and UFC apparently have in common is that if someone will draw big numbers and make them big money, then they will give'm a spot.

 

[stingray11214]

Yes, I read the opening post from the OP. I do agree with him only up to a point. The way I
read it is that he thinks Punk got on his hands and knees to Dana White begging for a contract. I offer that nothing could be further from the truth. Is it hypocritical for Punk to join UFC after complaining about always being hurt in WWE? I would only say to a point he might be. However, this is NOT all Punk. To place it all on him is next to ridiculous, and comes off like a spurned lover.

1) There is a HUGE difference between wrestling 4-5 times a week, every week, and fighting 2-3 fights a YEAR. It may be "fake fighting", but why not ask Darren "The Droz" Drozdov how fake wrestling is? Why don't you contact the families of Plum Mariko and Mitsuharu Misawa and ask them how "fake" wrestling is? Why don't you go to the set of "Haven" and ask Adam Copeland that if wrestling was "fake", why would he be one bump away from being a quadriplegic? Never mind the travel, the constant training, the 2-3 hours of sleep a night. You can now figure out why Punk was never in the greatest of health. Now, compare that to spending weeks at a training camp. Break for a little rest, training camp, then travel to the fight, then go home? Sure, he might get the crud punched out of him for 2-3 minutes. Compare that to being slammed x amount of times in a 20 minute span 4-5 nights a week. Now, do you think that MAYBE he is better off in UFC?

2) Dana White is not a stupid man. He is in a sport that is trying to gain legitimacy in the mainstream. He saw what EliteXC did with Kimbo Slice, and we all saw what happened to EliteXC. NO WAY IN HELL does White give Punk a contract without first vetting him closely. I guarantee you he contacted Rener Gracie to pigeonhole him about Punk. And, I also believe White spoke to BOTH Heyman AND Lesnar about Punk. If White was smart, there is an out clause that will allow UFC to part ways with Punk if training is not going as planned.

3) People are saying that "Punk may not get licensed in New Jersey and Nevada, therefore he won't be able to fight" Um, folks, there are 50 State Athletic Commissions in the US of A. How many States will it take for Punk to be able to fight anywhere? One. And, most States offer reciprocity, meaning if he can fight in one place, he can fight anywhere that UFC is allowed to compete. So, all he has to do is get licensed to fight in Illinois, and he will get licensed in Illinois, and Nevada and New Jersey will be hard pressed not to follow suit. I guarantee you that Punk's first fight will be in the United Center.

4) As for the haters and naysayers: Sure, Punk might have gotten a prime spot. But, why is it that YOU did not get it. Maybe Punk will draw eyeballs that UFC might never have had before. Maybe you just suck donkey nads. But, the haters are going to hate, and the naysayers will find anything to say nay.

Those things said, we all just need to wait and see. Punk first match will probably be toward the end of the year, and I suggest we all wait until then to make comment on it.

 

[OYDK]

4) As for the haters and naysayers: Sure, Punk might have gotten a prime spot. But, why is it that YOU did not get it. Maybe Punk will draw eyeballs that UFC might never have had before. Maybe you just suck donkey nads. But, the haters are going to hate, and the naysayers will find anything to say nay.

People keep bringing this up, but it's completely missing the point... Nobody said that Punk won't draw, everybody KNOWS he will draw. The point is, Punk is given this spot solely BECAUSE he will draw. He didn't earn it, he's not a "legitimate fighter" to the level of these guys (or I assume) and that was his exact beef with Lesnar, The Rock, and Batista. He bitched about these guys coming in, taking spots, making more money than the full time roster, and than leaving... but they drew. What the heck is the difference? People believed Punk was really sticking to his beliefs and standing up for the locker room when he left; instead he's doing the exact same thing he took such a strong stance against, proving that he was only angry that he was not getting the same preferential treatment as these guys. He didn't believe that the full time roster deserved more... he believed HE deserved more.

I don't get how some people can't see this.

 

[stingray11214]

People keep bringing this up, but it's completely missing the point... Nobody said that Punk won't draw, everybody KNOWS he will draw. The point is, Punk is given this spot solely BECAUSE he will draw. He didn't earn it, he's not a "legitimate fighter" to the level of these guys (or I assume) and that was his exact beef with Lesnar, The Rock, and Batista. He bitched about these guys coming in, taking spots, making more money than the full time roster, and than leaving... but they drew. What the heck is the difference? People believed Punk was really sticking to his beliefs and standing up for the locker room when he left; instead he's doing the exact same thing he took such a strong stance against, proving that he was only angry that he was not getting the same preferential treatment as these guys. He didn't believe that the full time roster deserved more... he believed HE deserved more.

I don't get how some people can't see this.

The big difference is that Punk actually WANTS to be in UFC for UFC. He is not there because his movie career did not go as planned, or there to promote a new film, or to promote some other project. He would be a blazing idiot, and you would be correct, if that was the case. And, if you read #2 on my post, Dana White is NOT going to sign anyone that can draw WITHOUT proper vetting. Why did he not sign Batista? Simple: Batista was more interested in movie roles than UFC. Do you actually think that Batista WANTED to go back to WWE? Do you think that The Rock actually wanted to go back? So, why criticize Punk for wanting to go to UFC to fight in UFC?

Furthermore, whose chance did Punk take away? If anything, he gives someone marginal a CHANCE to see what he can do. There are NO storylines involve, and White can simply add a match to the undercard, which he will do here. So, what is the problem?

I will tell you what the problem is: You cannot accept the fact that Punk walked out on WWE. EVERY wrestler is a self-promoter. Zach Ryder did it. Prince Devitt did it. Even the jobber down at Ma's Wrestling Federation at The General Store in Mudlick, Kentucky does it. So, why can't Punk do it? Because he had the utter audacity to walk out on YOU when he felt he was treated wrongly by the Titan Towers Gang?

 

[OYDK]

The big difference is that Punk actually WANTS to be in UFC for UFC. He is not there because his movie career did not go as planned, or there to promote a new film, or to promote some other project. He would be a blazing idiot, and you would be correct, if that was the case. And, if you read #2 on my post, Dana White is NOT going to sign anyone that can draw WITHOUT proper vetting. Why did he not sign Batista? Simple: Batista was more interested in movie roles than UFC. Do you actually think that Batista WANTED to go back to WWE? Do you think that The Rock actually wanted to go back? So, why criticize Punk for wanting to go to UFC to fight in UFC?

This is not necessarily a true statement. No Punk is not there because his movie career didn't go to planned, however he IS there because his pro wrestling career didn't go as planned, right? Again, what's the difference? He may not be there to "promote a movie", but neither were The Rock or Brock Lesnar. To say that The Rock or Batista didn't want to be there is a far fetched assumption. They didn't have to go back to the WWE, they chose to... which means they wanted to be there in some capacity, and does The Rock really need to wrestle in order to promote a movie? The guy's like the biggest movie star in the world at this point. Batista wanted to come back, but he was told a lot of bullshit from the brass apparently, which is probably the reason he's gone now. Basically you're main point can be picked apart, so it's not that strong of an argument tbh.

Also, yes you're right that Dana White wouldn't sign Punk if he had NO experience. He just has very limited experience. You can put him with Gracie all you want, but Punk is not going to pick up years of training and experience in half a year, it just is not going to happen.

Furthermore, whose chance did Punk take away? If anything, he gives someone marginal a CHANCE to see what he can do. There are NO storylines involve, and White can simply add a match to the undercard, which he will do here. So, what is the problem?

I've said this point earlier. Just because Punk is not taking a main event spot necessarily, does not mean that he is not taking somebodies spot... Somebody who has a real goal in mind of becoming a great fighter in the UFC, instead of just "trying it out because he's interested"... Somebody who has worked ten times as hard to get that undercard match. That's who's spot he is taking. It could be YOUR spot if you happened to be an MMA fighter.

I will tell you what the problem is: You cannot accept the fact that Punk walked out on WWE. EVERY wrestler is a self-promoter. Zach Ryder did it. Prince Devitt did it. Even the jobber down at Ma's Wrestling Federation at The General Store in Mudlick, Kentucky does it. So, why can't Punk do it? Because he had the utter audacity to walk out on YOU when he felt he was treated wrongly by the Titan Towers Gang?

This is what I hate the most. I can not stand when people make assumptions about me when they don't know me. What if I said, "I'll tell you what the problem is: You're such a big Punk mark that you can't see and accept what's right in front of you.." I'm NOT saying that but that would probably piss you off a bit, no? I can accept the fact that Punk walked out on WWE. I can also accept the fact that he's a hypocrite.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

The latest bit on this whole situation came about yesterday. Punk had a sit down, via satellite interview with Michael Landsberg on the TSN show "Off The Record" yesterday and things got a little hostile.

Tension built throughout the three-segment interview until the end, which included Punk growing tired of WWE-related questions and evaluating Landsberg's personality on-camera vs. off-camera. Landsberg retorted by saying Punk seems to be taking himself too seriously transitioning from the world of pro wrestling to UFC while also drawing attention to Punk sipping a drink throughout the interview.

This tied in with a video package in the opening segment that poked fun at Punk not having a UFC opponent, experience, or debut fight date, with a somewhat mocking tone to the video. After a series of WWE questions, Punk noted he was on the interview to promote his new UFC career, not rehash the past, prompting Landsberg to ask Punk what he would be asking himself if doing the interview since he felt there was nothing UFC-related to discuss.

In the middle of the interview, Landsberg brought up a big topic of how Punk feels about his wife, A.J. Lee, still working for WWE if Punk feels so strongly about WWE's business practices and health policies. Punk, who appeared on-camera from New York, was noticeably uncomfortable when the topic of his wife was brought up, especially after tension had built throughout the interview.

"This is taken out of context. I didn't mean to call anybody out; I simply told my story. I told the truth; I told people what happened to me. It wasn't to call anybody out. I'm a passionate guy who lost the passion to do his job. My intent wasn't to call anybody out. I've had plenty of conversations with my wife about her working there. If she wants to work there, more power to her. We have separate careers. We'll continue to have separate careers, and we'll be stronger for it supporting each other," Punk said.

Landsberg followed up by saying Punk may not have called out WWE, but his story was a terrible reflection of the company. "I just recanted my experiences," Punk said, perhaps meaning "recalled." "Somehow, I would love to move on from that. I'm not shy about my past and I don't regret anything, but I'm here to talk about UFC."

As for whether he will be like past stars who eventually return to WWE, such as Canadian legend Bret Hart, Punk replied, "I don't know because I can't tell the future. But, I know myself and I know what's in here (pointed to his heart). And I have no desire to go back. I don't think they have a desire to see me back, either. So, everyone is happy."

Asked about the power of Vince McMahon "wanting to do business" with past stars, Punk replied, "My integrity is pretty powerful as well."

I couldn't help but actually laugh at some of this. Punk got upset at this guy because most of his questions seemed to be focused on WWE rather than Punk's UFC career. Is he an idiot? Of course most questions are gonna be focused on WWE rather than UFC right now because....well...frankly Punk doesn't have a UFC career yet. He's signed with UFC and....that's it. He makes some inflammatory statements about WWE on an internet podcast hosted by his close friend, Colt Cabana, and gets irritated when said statements are being brought up in a legit interview? I don't know what he was expecting but I get the impression he was expecting some sort of dull, lukewarm puff piece. Lansberg's been hosting Off The Record for some 17 years and, to my knowledge, has a lot of credibility. He's supposed to ask questions of interest and questions that could be a little uncomfortable, he's not there to hold Punk's hand or anything like Colt Cabana.

The end portion of the interview in which he is asked if he'd ever consider working for WWE directly contradicts what he told Colt Cabana as he told Cabana that he'd never have a working relationship with WWE again. His statements here suggest that he might be open to the idea whereas a month ago he all but told WWE to wash his nutsack with a warm wet rag.

 

[snazzy]

Punk got upset at this guy because most of his questions seemed to be focused on WWE rather than Punk's UFC career.

I think it is disingenuous to state that the one thing Punk got upset by was the line of questioning. Watching the entire interview I can say, also not knowing who Landsberg is, I thought the way he asked questions and some of the questions he asked were disrespectful, for example "Have you ever been punched?". This question was just ridiculous and would be incredibly insulting as a professional, especially when you are proud of your work like CM Punk evidently is. It appeared to me as if Landsberg was intentionally trying to push his buttons.

I understand your opinion of CM Punk but I don't think it's really right to paint your interpretation of the interview as what went down and then criticise Punk for his reaction when you cannot even determine what sparked his reaction.

 

[Y2JBL]

Good points being made in this thread. I didn't read through all of it yet, so I don't know if somebody already threw these ideas in as well. I had posted these in a different CM Punk thread.

In his podcast interviews, Punk brought up the lack of a union for "the boys" in wrestling. There isn't one in UFC either, and many people have the same negative feelings about that as they do in pro wrestling, but Punk is okay going there. So if this is one of the issues he was choosing to make a stink about, he is failing.

He aired his complaints about how he wanted to have sponsors on his trunks in WWE and felt it was so ridiculous to be told no. UFC just recently agreed to a deal with Reebok where there will now be an official fight uniform, and the days of fighters wearing shorts plastered in logos is done, at least for the length of this new Reebok deal. So Punk wanted to make WWE and Vince look like the devil because they didn't want to open the can of worms of all the guys going into business for themselves and coming out on Raw covered in corporate logos. I'm not sure of the timing of how everything played out, but if Punk agreed to UFC prior to this Reebok thing being finalized and possibly envisioned finally getting the sponsorship deals he wanted, it makes me laugh a little bit. By the time he debuts, the official Reebok uniform will be in effect.

This Reebok deal is also causing hurt feelings from different areas of the fight card. For some fighters, it might work out to their financial benefit. For other guys, a huge chunk of their pay came from their sponsorship deals. Seems easy comparisons could be drawn to the WWE and the missing money from PPV bonuses and how that affected guys at different spots on the card.

My point being, Phil's hypocrisy also extends into this area of Vince compared to Dana. Is Punk gonna storm out of the UFC and make a stand about how the "boys" should have a union? Probably not. Is he going to confront Dana that it's BS that he finally transitions to the UFC only to find out sponsorship deals for fighters have been swapped for an official uniform? Probably not. And as the OP pointed out, does Punk have any issue now that he is on the other side of basically being a "part timer" or a "star attraction" that earned their spot on a fight card through other means that the rest of the guys? Nope.

 

[OYDK]

The latest bit on this whole situation came about yesterday. Punk had a sit down, via satellite interview with Michael Landsberg on the TSN show "Off The Record" yesterday and things got a little hostile.

Tension built throughout the three-segment interview until the end, which included Punk growing tired of WWE-related questions and evaluating Landsberg's personality on-camera vs. off-camera. Landsberg retorted by saying Punk seems to be taking himself too seriously transitioning from the world of pro wrestling to UFC while also drawing attention to Punk sipping a drink throughout the interview.

This tied in with a video package in the opening segment that poked fun at Punk not having a UFC opponent, experience, or debut fight date, with a somewhat mocking tone to the video. After a series of WWE questions, Punk noted he was on the interview to promote his new UFC career, not rehash the past, prompting Landsberg to ask Punk what he would be asking himself if doing the interview since he felt there was nothing UFC-related to discuss.

In the middle of the interview, Landsberg brought up a big topic of how Punk feels about his wife, A.J. Lee, still working for WWE if Punk feels so strongly about WWE's business practices and health policies. Punk, who appeared on-camera from New York, was noticeably uncomfortable when the topic of his wife was brought up, especially after tension had built throughout the interview.

"This is taken out of context. I didn't mean to call anybody out; I simply told my story. I told the truth; I told people what happened to me. It wasn't to call anybody out. I'm a passionate guy who lost the passion to do his job. My intent wasn't to call anybody out. I've had plenty of conversations with my wife about her working there. If she wants to work there, more power to her. We have separate careers. We'll continue to have separate careers, and we'll be stronger for it supporting each other," Punk said.

Landsberg followed up by saying Punk may not have called out WWE, but his story was a terrible reflection of the company. "I just recanted my experiences," Punk said, perhaps meaning "recalled." "Somehow, I would love to move on from that. I'm not shy about my past and I don't regret anything, but I'm here to talk about UFC."

As for whether he will be like past stars who eventually return to WWE, such as Canadian legend Bret Hart, Punk replied, "I don't know because I can't tell the future. But, I know myself and I know what's in here (pointed to his heart). And I have no desire to go back. I don't think they have a desire to see me back, either. So, everyone is happy."

Asked about the power of Vince McMahon "wanting to do business" with past stars, Punk replied, "My integrity is pretty powerful as well."

I couldn't help but actually laugh at some of this. Punk got upset at this guy because most of his questions seemed to be focused on WWE rather than Punk's UFC career. Is he an idiot? Of course most questions are gonna be focused on WWE rather than UFC right now because....well...frankly Punk doesn't have a UFC career yet. He's signed with UFC and....that's it. He makes some inflammatory statements about WWE on an internet podcast hosted by his close friend, Colt Cabana, and gets irritated when said statements are being brought up in a legit interview? I don't know what he was expecting but I get the impression he was expecting some sort of dull, lukewarm puff piece. Lansberg's been hosting Off The Record for some 17 years and, to my knowledge, has a lot of credibility. He's supposed to ask questions of interest and questions that could be a little uncomfortable, he's not there to hold Punk's hand or anything like Colt Cabana.

The end portion of the interview in which he is asked if he'd ever consider working for WWE directly contradicts what he told Colt Cabana as he told Cabana that he'd never have a working relationship with WWE again. His statements here suggest that he might be open to the idea whereas a month ago he all but told WWE to wash his nutsack with a warm wet rag.

I was looking forward to this interview for a very long time. I don't know if OTR gets aired in America (I doubt it), but when I heard Landsberg was going to be interviewing Punk, I knew there was going to be a lot of heat and tension between the two. Landsberg ALWAYS asks the toughest, most controversial question to whoever is on his show, which is why people like Chael Sonnen and many others get royally pissed off at him... so in all fairness Punk is not the only one to go at Landsberg, there are countless others.

Landsberg is a great interviewer, but he is also a notorious dick and many people can't stand the guy, however I think he is justified here. I'm sure if he had asked Punk about his UFC opponents or salary or deal, he would have been met with, "Well I can't really discuss that right now". So he was left with the WWE option, which was guaranteed to piss Punk off... and I think Landsberg knew that.

Sure Punk could have been less... immature I guess you could say? But you know what you're going to get with CM Punk. He is going to be difficult and he is going to make the interviewers job hard. On the other hand, Landsberg is almost guaranteed to make his guest uncomfortable, which isn't very cool either tbh.

I loved the end where they basically said, they would love to do this interview later on down the road. I'm sure, inside, both guys loved that interview. It's fun for them.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Regarding the Off The Record Interview, I'm not sure what Punk expected to happen.

First of all, as of right now, he is a very popular professional wrestler with some crossover appeal who is going to be debuting in the UFC. He has yet to have that debut, yet to have an opponent, yet to have chosen a training stable, and yet to be even approved to fight. There's no news there yet. You can't compare wrestling to the UFC, because, well, one is acting.

Second, he left the WWE in a very spectacular way, so of course, there's a lot more questions to come from that angle.

Third, you can't "recant" a story like he did regarding the way the WWE conducted health checks and drug testing, and not be making an accusation. He said that not being treated for the staph infection happened, that asking Triple H if he had submitted to a drug test happened, and that WWE management pressured him to perform with a possible concussion happened. Those are accusations, whether direct or indirect.

It MATTERS that the man's wife is still there while he is saying those things. He can brush that off, but that's a very legit line of questioning.

On another note, I'm always puzzled by athletes who only want to talk about sports when the real story is what happened around the game, around the event, outside the ring, whatever. In the case of someone like Punk, this is self-promotion. You need to promote yourself, and this is part of that bargain.

So suck it up, Punk.

You wanted this. You have to deal with the downside too.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

So I went and watched the interview, and here's my thoughts as an extension of the above:

1) Yeah, Landsberg is an asshole, and his intent was to belittle Punk first before launching into questions. Again, not sure what Punk wants to expect. I'm amazed professional wrestlers think much has changed in the way people view their jobs. But, I'm also not surprised with Punk's reaction.

2) Eventually, the questions became more valid than they were in the beginning of the interview, but the tone had been set, I think, and so Punk wasn't going to answer. The answers he gave were crap, but then again, I'm not sure what Landsberg expected at that point either.

3) Drinking coffee is disrespectful? Yeah, you've been talking shit from a studio from the other side of the country, and the guy is treating you like shit in return. Go figure.

4) Punk finally loosens up at the very end, and calls Landsberg on his shit. Crazy notion: Smiling and talking, even if you're not answering the guy's questions, still can make people like you better and see your point of view than being quiet and/or pissed off.

5) I've seen his other interviews on ESPN, and they were pretty much softball type questions, etc, etc. I think Punk needs to grow a thicker skin.

 

[Rayne]

They really should have lined up a fight for Phil Brooks before announcing him as a UFC fighter, because this whole media tour is starting to turn into a sad joke. Phil Brooks wants to talk about UFC, but beyond the fact that he's signed with them, there's nothing to talk about. Everyone else wants to talk about the two decades he's spent in professional wrestling, but Phil Brooks doesn't want to talk about CM Punk.

So with nothing to announce, and nothing you want to talk about, why is Phil Brooks doing all kinds of interviews right now? Does he think the world is interested on his opinion of the Blackhawks right now?

A distinct possibility.

Another one is that for all the noise he's making and all the publicity he's getting......his UFC career never materializes. Somewhere during his "intensive training" we're informed of a "crippling injury" he's developed that keeps his debut in UFC from ever happening.

Given his build, his age and his injuries, I can't see him fighting for real .....unless mixed martial arts has it's own version of jobbers; guys who couldn't hurt a fly no matter how hard they try.

Does UFC have people like that? If so, maybe Punk tries it. If not, it just might turn out he was giving us a line of bullshit as to the possibility of ever stepping in the ring. We'll see.



*****By the way, if he ever fought in UFC, he'd appear under the name of Phil Brooks, wouldn't he? I mean, I know he owns the Punk name, but he wouldn't actually go into a UFC fight under that moniker, would he? Just wondering.

"Jobbers", in the sense that there are guys who get told to go out, put up a good fight, and go down in the third? Not in legitimate mixed martial arts, although with the dozens of promotions springing up, I'm sure that's occurring to some degree. However, there is the idea of setting up a "tin can" for a fighter; choosing an opponent who isn't as skilled as the person you're promoting, and creating stylistic differences which favor your fighter (for instance, if you've got a striker like Kimbo Slice, you don't pair him against guys with good jiu-jitsu, which typically trumps over pure strikers.)

This can only occur to a certain degree, because the various state commissions try to set up reasonable fights; you aren't allowed to pit a fighter against a pathetically weaker opponent. Bobby Lashley, while he was in Strikeforce, once had three separate opponents denied for a fight because the sanctioning commission (I believe it was Florida) didn't think they were appropriate matches.

As far as fighting, he'd probably be announced as Phil "CM Punk" Brooks. They're obviously bringing him over to draw the professional wrestling crowd, so they'd be foolish not to use the nickname; however, promoting him as "CM Punk" would alienate their core fan base. All kinds of UFC fighters have nicknames, so Phil "CM Punk" Brooks wouldn't be a big issue.

 

[Navi]

They really should have lined up a fight for Phil Brooks before announcing him as a UFC fighter, because this whole media tour is starting to turn into a sad joke. Phil Brooks wants to talk about UFC, but beyond the fact that he's signed with them, there's nothing to talk about. Everyone else wants to talk about the two decades he's spent in professional wrestling, but Phil Brooks doesn't want to talk about CM Punk.

So with nothing to announce, and nothing you want to talk about, why is Phil Brooks doing all kinds of interviews right now? Does he think the world is interested on his opinion of the Blackhawks right now?

Was sort of wondering the same thing. It would have made sense to announce he signed a contract with them, but they would release more information at a later date. Sort of like when a player gets drafted out of the minors to the NHL, they announce they signed them, but the player could go to the farm system for a couple of years.

I think it's being done to keep himself relevant in the news. He strikes me as a bit of a drama queen and feeds off the attention.

 

[TWJC: The Beginning]

100% agree.

I have no doubt that this is going to be a colossal failure. He may draw decent numbers for the first fight but they won't be huge because he's not as big of a star as he says. Then during the fight he'll get the shit beat out of him because he's not an elite athlete or an elite fighter. So that will kill all drawing power and he'll lose credibility.

It's sad that a guy I've followed from the indies seems to be such a selfish, perpetually adolescent piece of shit but he really is.

If he were to be true to who he thinks he is, he would start out on the bottom just like everyone else. Fight Joe Noname in front of 1,000 people for a local fight promotion. Go 5-0 and then maybe fight the Green Ranger in a higher profile fight. Prove yourself. Don't take the spot of a much more deserving MMA guy who dedicated his life to this just because you have a hobby.


At the end of the day, it's going to be like the Shockmaster. He's going to get built up, then he's going to lose the MMA equivalent of a squash match to the MMA equivalent of the Brooklyn Brawler. Taking a slot and money away from a much more deserving fighter. Lost a lot of respect for Punk over the last year.

 

[shalliin]

This is not necessarily a true statement. No Punk is not there because his movie career didn't go to planned, however he IS there because his pro wrestling career didn't go as planned, right? Again, what's the difference? He may not be there to "promote a movie", but neither were The Rock or Brock Lesnar. To say that The Rock or Batista didn't want to be there is a far fetched assumption. They didn't have to go back to the WWE, they chose to... which means they wanted to be there in some capacity, and does The Rock really need to wrestle in order to promote a movie? The guy's like the biggest movie star in the world at this point. Batista wanted to come back, but he was told a lot of bullshit from the brass apparently, which is probably the reason he's gone now. Basically you're main point can be picked apart, so it's not that strong of an argument tbh.

Rock is not the biggest movie star in the world. His top grossing movie as the main star barely broke 100$million. His top grossing movie that he was in period drew in 238$million as part of the ensemble for fast 6. these are not 'biggest movie star in the world' numbers. So yes Rock comes back to WWE only to hype his next movie. And most of the time, it hasn't really helped. His individual movie efforts have not succeeded and his biggest roles were in franchises that added him to inject new flacor (Fast/Furious, GI Joe, Mummy/Scorpion King) and the successful ones he is one of several main characters, not the outright star. Those movies he was the star/focus were mostly at best moderate money makers if not ourtright bombs.

Also, yes you're right that Dana White wouldn't sign Punk if he had NO experience. He just has very limited experience. You can put him with Gracie all you want, but Punk is not going to pick up years of training and experience in half a year, it just is not going to happen.



I've said this point earlier. Just because Punk is not taking a main event spot necessarily, does not mean that he is not taking somebodies spot... Somebody who has a real goal in mind of becoming a great fighter in the UFC, instead of just "trying it out because he's interested"... Somebody who has worked ten times as hard to get that undercard match. That's who's spot he is taking. It could be YOUR spot if you happened to be an MMA fighter.



This is what I hate the most. I can not stand when people make assumptions about me when they don't know me. What if I said, "I'll tell you what the problem is: You're such a big Punk mark that you can't see and accept what's right in front of you.." I'm NOT saying that but that would probably piss you off a bit, no? I can accept the fact that Punk walked out on WWE. I can also accept the fact that he's a hypocrite.

The difference with what Punk is doing and what Lesnar/Batista are doing/did is that Punk doesn't have a sideline going with him other then promoting himself. Unlike Lesnar who only came back when he had no choice but to stop UFC due to health issues (yet was still given a ridiculously higher value contract. He had nowhere to go but WWE bent backwards to get him back) and Batista who admitedly came back to promo his movie (which didn't need any extra promoting to break the bank at 2x the box office numbers rock's best movie did, and more then 5x the business rock's summer release did) actually did work more of a schedule then the combined Rock/lesnar returns.

And Punk isn't doing what they did, getting put into title contention immediately, and being shoved down peoples throats as huge challenges and untouchable to common worker. He's started out against nobodies who will enhance their image if they win or loose. Loose to him might seem to hurt as he's a 'fake' wrestler, but so was Brock when he joined UFC. Win and you have bragging rights of beating a 'world champ' even if he was only a 'wrestler'. Just the experience of being in the spotlight for the eyes that will be on that match will help who ever his opponent is for the first couple of fights.

Punk's going to be against guys of similar size and experience. WWE might be scripted in terms of wins/loss but the move sets are real. There are some modifications to some moves to prevent injury, and that's were Punk has to train to try and get out of that ingrained habit of trying to protect his opponent or ease up and not overly restrain when applying a submission. So in terms of experience, he's had 15 plus years of fighting and working, thousands of matches, sometimes involving working with/against multiple opponents and including foreign objects and environments.

SO the biggest challenge for Punk will be taking that and over riding that as I mentioned habit of holding back and protecting the opponent in situations instead of really wrenching or twisting body parts for submissions and when throwing punches and kicks at true force instead of wrestling showmanship force.

It is most similar to someone who's only done sparring or point match training and then decides to get into a fight. Might have all the skills and power to win, but has to over come years or decades of training to hold back and not hit or process as hard or fast as they can.

 

[laodaron]

For the record, with Punk's history of crying about how stiff certain wrestlers are in the ring, it is a perfectly legitimate question to ask him if he's ever actually been punched in the face.

 

[Fillet Club]

For the record, with Punk's history of crying about how stiff certain wrestlers are in the ring, it is a perfectly legitimate question to ask him if he's ever actually been punched in the face.

I guess I can see where you're coming from, but if anything it came across far stronger that Landsberg was taking a subtle dig at pro-wrestling in general. But holy cow that interview was uncomfortable to listen to.

 

[laodaron]

I guess I can see where you're coming from, but if anything it came across far stronger that Landsberg was taking a subtle dig at pro-wrestling in general. But holy cow that interview was uncomfortable to listen to.

Sure, he's taking a dig. Wrestling is skilled stuntmen entertainment, where the trick is learning how to make it look like you're hurting someone when you aren't. MMA/UFC is skilled FIGHTING. You are trying to cause as much damage to your opponent in the quickest time possible within the realm of the ruleset. I don't blame him for taking the dig. I blame Punk for not expecting to be considered a joke by the commentators and critics and pundits.

 

[Vader]

I didn't read any of this but CM Punk will not do well in the UFC.

Dana White has essentially said he only signed Punk because he would sell PPVs. It's a bigger slap in the face to every fighter out that legitimately trying to get on the UFC promotion. Punk is a White Belt, 36, unathletic, and has no real martial arts background.

 

[OYDK]

Rock is not the biggest movie star in the world. His top grossing movie as the main star barely broke 100$million. His top grossing movie that he was in period drew in 238$million as part of the ensemble for fast 6. these are not 'biggest movie star in the world' numbers. So yes Rock comes back to WWE only to hype his next movie. And most of the time, it hasn't really helped. His individual movie efforts have not succeeded and his biggest roles were in franchises that added him to inject new flacor (Fast/Furious, GI Joe, Mummy/Scorpion King) and the successful ones he is one of several main characters, not the outright star. Those movies he was the star/focus were mostly at best moderate money makers if not ourtright bombs.

Well, I wasn't being completely literal when I called The Rock the "biggest movie star in the world"... Rock is ONE of the biggest movie stars in the world. Better? I'm not really going to get into how great of an actor The Rock really is, all I'll say is that he is already scheduled to be in two huge movies in 2015; FF 7 and San Andreas and he's obviously in high demand seeing as he's been in a shit-ton of movies lately. From the start of 2013 up until today, he's been in 7 pretty huge hits. He doesn't need to go to WWE to promote GI Joe or FF... mainly because those movies don't need to be promoted too much.

I'm trying to understand your argument here. So because The Rock is not the "biggest" movie star in the world, that means that he only comes back to WWE to promote his movies? When has The Rock ever promoted one of his movies on WWETV? Maybe it hasn't helped because, oh I don't know, it's not the reason he's there. I'm just trying to understand the jump you're making here. Can you clarify?

The difference with what Punk is doing and what Lesnar/Batista are doing/did is that Punk doesn't have a sideline going with him other then promoting himself. Unlike Lesnar who only came back when he had no choice but to stop UFC due to health issues (yet was still given a ridiculously higher value contract.

Lesnar came to WWE only because he couldn't compete in UFC anymore. Punk went to UFC only because his wrestling career wasn't working out. Punk also most likely has a ridiculously high valued contract. Not seeing a difference here.

And Punk isn't doing what they did, getting put into title contention immediately, and being shoved down peoples throats as huge challenges and untouchable to common worker. He's started out against nobodies who will enhance their image if they win or loose. Loose to him might seem to hurt as he's a 'fake' wrestler, but so was Brock when he joined UFC. Win and you have bragging rights of beating a 'world champ' even if he was only a 'wrestler'. Just the experience of being in the spotlight for the eyes that will be on that match will help who ever his opponent is for the first couple of fights.

Punk should start out as a nobody because he IS a nobody in the ultimate fighting world. He's never had a fight, never had extensive training, he's a nobody. Your assumption that he WILL fight another nobody may not come to fruition as he'll probably face a semi-recognizable name. Rock and Lesnar were already multiple time champions and legends in the WWE before they made their returns. You say they were shoved down our throats, but what does that mean? Did you want to see Brock Lesnar start at the bottom and face R-Truth or Fandango? What if Punk came back... would you complain about him being shoved down your throat if he was placed in a World title feud? The Rock and Brock Lesnar earned their WWE spots by making themselves legends in a WWE ring. Punk may very well be a legend in a WWE ring, but again, he's a nobody in a UFC ring.