Phil Brooks aka CM Punk to debut at UFC 203
CM Punk will make his mixed martial arts debut at UFC 203 in Cleveland on September 10, the promotion announced Thursday.
Punk, who’s real name is Phil Brooks, was signed to the UFC after leaving the WWE all the way back in December 2015. He was injured training in October of a year ago, delaying his UFC debut for the first time, and had surgery for a herniated disc in February, delaying it further. Once he did commit to a debut date, following tutelage from Duke Roufus, injuries kept him at bay. He left the WWE after falling out with the company’s executives.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson revealed during an appearance on the UFC Unfiltered podcast that he considered transitioning to MMA in the mid-2000s when he walked away from WWE and was pursuing acting. The fight will take place at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena on 10 September.
It is hard for anybody to predict how CM Punk will fair inside the Octagon. Surely, the UFC is hoping for a similar result for Punk and the world will be watching to see if Punk is a roaring success or if he’s simply not ready for this level of competition.
“In my head, I felt like it was at least a two-year process for me to even get in the [cage], let alone the UFC”, Johnson said. “Everyone is trying to figure out why I would want to do this”. I kind of look at not so much the guy, but who they train with and he trains at a great camp in New Jersey, the Miller brothers.
Punk has been training with a top MMA camp called Roufusport but there have been rumblings about his inability to stand and strike. “It’s not about the destination; it’s about the journey”.
Punk, 37, will be part of a show headlined by Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem for the UFC heavyweight title.
Then came last October’s shoulder injury, which was followed by a back injury just four days after his initial fight against Gall was confirmed.