One of the questions asked by many once the UFC announced the signing of CM Punk, was ‘who is he going to be matched up against?’ Several UFC middleweights and welterweights have already volunteered to be Punk’s first challenge, but it looks like they’re not picking any of their established guys.
Dana White says, that unlike fellow WWE star Brock Lesnar who was thrown to the fire and faced a former champion in his first UFC bout, CM Punk will be brought up much slowly. He told ESPN about it:
“He wanted to fight here,” White told ESPN.com. “He wanted to give it a shot, so we gave him an opportunity. It’s not like Brock Lesnar. We’re not going to throw the kitchen sink at him. Lesnar had a wrestling background. [CM Punk] is going to fight a guy who is 1-0, 1-1, 2-1 — something like that.”
Instead of being fast tracked, it looks like the pro-wrestler also known as Phil Brooks will be treated much like how a 0-0 fighter should start his MMA career. The only difference is that Punk is going to start on a PPV card in the biggest promotion in the world. Conversely, some lucky new prospect will also be handed a golden ticket to the UFC and start early on the big stage as well.
Time of course, isn’t on the 36-year-old’s side, so he will have to learn quickly.
The former pro-wrestler doesn’t have an extensive background in combat sports, and while he did say that he plans to be well-rounded, he says he definitely considers BJJ to be his base. According to Punk, he is weighing various training camp invites and will be looking to train extensively for 6 months before deciding when to make his debut.
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