Video: CM Punk Discusses His Journey From WWE To The UFC
At this Saturday’s UFC 203, CM Punk will finally get a chance to step into the Octagon for the very first time. It’s a debut that pro wrestling and MMA fans have been waiting nearly two years to see, and it’s something that a lot of people didn’t think would ever happen.
CM Punk’s UFC debut will take place at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, which is the very same building where he told WWE chairman Vince McMahon that his pro wrestling career was over back in January of 2014. Eleven months later, he announced that he had signed with the UFC, and although he’s had a couple of setbacks while preparing for his Octagon debut, he never once thought about giving up on his dream of stepping into the Octagon and competing.
In the video below, Punk talks to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani for nearly 40 minutes about his long, and at times frustrating journey to his UFC debut.
During a media scrum on Wednesday, Punk said that he’s “going in there to win” on Saturday night. He didn’t predict how he would get the job done, but he said that he’s never been more confident about anything in his life.
“They should expect a fight. This is MMA, it’s chaos. And I’m going in there to win, and I don’t care how it happens.”
Part of Punk’s journey has been documented on the Fox documentary series – The Evolution of Punk– which showed his progression from his first day in training, all the way until a few weeks before this weekend’s event.
Mickey Gall, who is Punk’s opponent on Saturday night, is heavily favored to win at UFC 203, and he seems extremely confident, as he’s said that he’s going to finish the former WWE star in less than one minute. On top of guaranteeing a quick victory, Gall has said that he’s planning on calling out another big name after the fight.
“Within the rules set, I’m going to be going in there to kill [CM Punk]. I’ll probably have a name in my mouth. It got me to the dance. I’ll keep dancing with that.”
Of course, Gall was discovered on Dana White’s Looking for a Fight show when the UFC president attended a regional MMA show in the northeast where Gall made quick work of his opponent and then proceeded to call out CM Punk.
Gall, who is 13 years younger than Punk, has a professional MMA record of 2-0, with both of his wins coming via submission in the first round. His most recent victory was over Mike Jackson, who he finished in just 45 seconds via rear-naked choke.
#UFC203 presser ?? @StipeMiocicUFC | @AlistairOvereem | @TravisBrowneMMA | @FabricioWerdum | @CMPunk | @MickeyGall pic.twitter.com/J2M5vaT2X0
— UFC (@ufc) September 8, 2016
The CM Punk vs. Mickey Gall fight will be third from the top at UFC 203, behind the Heavyweight Championship fight between Cleveland’s own Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem, and Travis Browne vs. Fabricio Werdum. Of the fights on the card, Punk’s fight has garnered the most interest. You can check out the full main card lineup below.
- Stipe Miocic vs. Alistair Overeem (Heavyweight Championship)
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Travis Browne
- CM Punk vs. Mickey Gall
- Urijah Faber vs. Jimmie Rivera
- Jessica Andrade vs. Joanne Calderwood
Punk vs. Gall will be taking place at welterweight [170 pounds], and during his chat with Helwani, the former WWE star wouldn’t reveal what his current weight was, and he suggested that the weight cut isn’t going well. But, Punk did say that he’s not worried about it, and that he will make weight on Friday morning.
Whether he wins or loses, Punk has made it clear that he plans to fight more than once. So, barring some kind of career ending injury, this won’t be the only time we see CM Punk compete inside the Octagon.
[Photo by Duane Prokop/Getty Images]
