The MMA world is hotly anticipating the debut of former professional wrestler CM Punk, who will meet Mickey Gall on the main card of this weekend’s (September 10, 2016) UFC 203 from Cleveland, Ohio, but many are unsure what to expect as Punk has yet to step foot in the cage. His coach Duke Roufus, however, recently revealed that Punk’s game is quite well-rounded, specifically noting that he can ‘crack’:
“He can hit. He’s got a punch. He can crack,” Roufus told MMA Mania. “But, every day he is getting better. Again, he just took down a good wrestler the other day. He’s submitting guys I’m surprised he’s submitting. So, he’s taking turns.”
Continuing on, Roufus, who’s widely known for training former 155-pound champion Anthony Pettis, said that Punk has been reacting to drills very well. In fact, the former kickboxing champion even implied that Punk has been doing well when training with “Showtime”:
“Luckily we have a good system for reaction and we do a lot of drilling to get him used to having guys strike at him. Even Anthony had some commentary today saying, ‘Wow, Punk is doing way better.’ He’s been kind of going easy on Punk and Punk cracked him with a good one and Anthony started to get after him a little bit and Punk weathered the storm very nicely.”
“That being said, part of striking is accepting the fact that you are going to get a little sauce on the apron when you are cooking.”
Aside from simply learning the skills needed to compete at the highest level in mixed martial arts, Punk also had to deal with a tremendous amount of criticism and adversity, and Roufus says it’s his determination that has gotten him through it:
“He’s a very dedicated individual. Again, that is what made him get to the top in his former career,” Roufus said. “People who are at the top of any career have those elite work and drive characteristics that most don’t.”
Do you expect Punk to come out on top in Cleveland?
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