All of the wolves in the UFC middleweight and welterweight divisions hoping for a slab of prime CM Punk should pick up their jaws, wipe up their drool and go find a bone elsewhere.
Unlike his predecessor Brock Lesnar, who went on to become heavyweight …
All of the wolves in the UFC middleweight and welterweight divisions hoping for a slab of prime CM Punk should pick up their jaws, wipe up their drool and go find a bone elsewhere.
Unlike his predecessor Brock Lesnar, who went on to become heavyweight champion shortly after joining the UFC, Punk will not be fed to the wolves while making the transition to MMA.
Speaking with ESPN.com’s Brett Okamoto, UFC President Dana White cleared up any preconceived notions that Punk would be fighting top UFC talent.
“He wanted to fight here,” said White. “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.”
Punk, real name Phil Brooks, appeared on the live pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 181 on Saturday night to announce he had signed a fight deal with the UFC. The former WWE champion has cut his teeth in MMA by working with legendary Brazilian jiu-jitsu trainer Rener Gracie over the years.
Lesnar entered MMA with one fight already under his belt and an NCAA Division I wrestling title to his name. Punk lacks combat credentials, which is why the UFC has opted to ease him in.
White didn’t give an exact date for Punk’s UFC debut, but the former pro wrestling star will likely step into the cage sometime in 2015. Things become a bit murky when we consider an opponent, as the UFC isn’t known for brandishing start-up professional talent.
The UFC has endless options for giving an unknown prospect the opportunity of a lifetime. There is also the green matter to discuss. Jason David Frank, who starred as Tommy Oliver in the 90’s hit show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, recently offered to fight Punk in his UFC debut:
Frank is 1-0 as a professional MMA fighter and 4-0 as an amateur. All of his wins have come by either first-round knockout or submission.
Perhaps the MMA world is as ready as it’ll ever be for a showdown between Punk and the Green Ranger.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
Jason David Frank, otherwise known as Tommy Oliver from the television show Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, has officially tossed his name into the CM Punk sweepstakes.
The MMA world was left stunned Saturday night when it was revealed that Pun…
Jason David Frank, otherwise known as Tommy Oliver from the television show Mighty MorphinPower Rangers, has officially tossed his name into the CM Punk sweepstakes.
The MMA world was left stunned Saturday night when it was revealed that Punk, real name Phillip Brooks, would be trading in tights and stage boots for cauliflower ears and a pair of four-ounce gloves.
“I’d say my professional wrestling days are over. I’m sure I’m going to have to do plenty of wrestling [in the cage],” said Punk.
Since the announcement, multiple UFC fighters, including middleweight contender Michael Bisping, have taken to Twitter to call out the former professional wrestler.
When teasing Punk’s arrival Friday, UFC President Dana White explained on The Jim Rome Showthat things would play out much differently for Punk in comparison to Brock Lesnar’s journey from WWE to UFC.
There weren’t any warm-up bouts for Lesnar, whose UFC debut came against former heavyweight champ Frank Mir. Unlike Punk, Lesnar had already competed once before entering the UFC. He also had a world-class wrestling background and an NCAA Division I heavyweight title to lean on.
If Punk is to fight someone with similar experience, Frank could make for an intriguing option.
The former actor, now an MMA fighter, boasts an unblemished professional record of 1-0 and a 4-0 amateur record. All of his wins have come by first-round finishes.
After hearing of Punk’s signing, Frank sent out a post on Instagram asking fans to help get the word out to White and the UFC regarding a possible fight between the former WWE champ and the Green Ranger.
Some will likely denounce this fight due to its gimmicky nature, but it couldn’t be any worse than Punk fighting a complete random with a 0-0 record off the streets.
If anything, Frank at least gives the UFC a familiar face to work with.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
Hey guys, did you hear that the UFC signed former WWE champion CM Punk? Oh, you did? Well, I guess it was a pretty big deal…
If you heard the news, you are still probably trying to wrestle with it…no, not that fake kind of wrestling! Well, not…
Hey guys, did you hear that the UFC signed former WWE champion CM Punk? Oh, you did? Well, I guess it was a pretty big deal…
If you heard the news, you are still probably trying to wrestle with it…no, not that fake kind of wrestling! Well, not the real kind of wrestling, either.
Seriously though, reactions have been numerous, and they have ranged from ecstasy to unbridled rage. Bleacher Report’s own Jonathan Snowden was closer to the latter than the former. In his recent piece, he implored UFC President Dana White to “Send CM Punk Back to the WWE“:
This is a publicity stunt and a naked cash grab. The UFC is eschewing sport for spectacle, walking the opposite path it followed to grow the “sport” to this point. But there’s no underestimating the levels Dana White and Company will sink to in the name of American capitalism.
CagePotato’s ever-practical Matt Saccaro was more accepting:
CM Punk is a professional wrestler and BJJ weekend warrior who has the spare time and spare change to take an MMA fight. The UFC is happy to broadcast that fight for PPV dollars. This hurts the UFC’s image, but there wasn’t really much of an image to hurt. MMA has always been a circus act masquerading as a real sport, and now we have a real-life pro wrestling carnie to add to MMA’s menagerie of characters. What’s so bad about that?
Regardless of where anybody falls on the spectrum, however, the former Phil Brooks has put pen to paper: He is a UFC fighter.
The question is no longer “should the UFC sign him?” The question right now is, “What the heck can the UFC do with him?”
That discussion, frankly, is much more interesting.
Punk, unlike many WWE superstars, lacks a serious combat sports background. While Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Alberto Del Rio and so on all own legitimate amateur wrestling credentials, Punk does not. Not only that, but he has no real athletic career of any kind, with his unscripted competitive experience limited to karate in his teenage years and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu hobby he enjoys today.
He will enter the UFC with a 0-0 record and credentials that are eclipsed by most fighters on the amateur circuit. There is no denying that if it weren’t for his name value and legions of fans, he would be years away from competing in a feeder organization like RFA or CFA…never mind the UFC.
So what the heck can the UFC do with somebody essentially pulled off the streets? That depends entirely on how long Punk is planning on sticking around.
At age 36, it would be hard to imagine Punk sticking around for any length of time, even if he was a serious athlete. Because of that, the UFC has two ways to approach his career: cash him in as hard as they can with one big fight, or try and keep things cushy enough for him to want to stick around.
When it comes to the former, throwing Punk into the cage with a lion is a good way to give “the rub” to an established fighter who needs some extra popularity. Take an above-average welterweight who has some staying power but absolutely no name value like John Hathaway or Hyun-Gyu Lim, and imagine their overnight stardom from being associated with a fight with “The Best in the World.”
Would Punk stand anything but the punchiest of a puncher’s chance? Of course not. Heck, making a fight with Lim would border on immoral. That said, if the UFC knows (or believes) that he is going to be a one-fight wonder…make the most out of that opportunity.
What if the UFC wants to treat him like any other prospect, as Dana White discussed?
In spite of the fact that Punk is not in amazing physical condition, has no serious athletic experience and has never competed in combat sports, he might not actually be the worst fighter in the UFC.
While that sounds ridiculous, have you guys actually watched some of the international editions of The Ultimate Fighter? Keep in mind, one of the TUF: Chinacoaches was booted off the show for not actually having any idea how to fight. It isn’t just China, either, as some of the fighters we have seen on TUF: Latin America and TUF: Nations were comparably dreadful.
In an organization that brags about its athletes having (needing) full-time jobs during broadcasts (while still denying that there are troubles with fighter pay), anybody who can put all of their livelihood into the sport has a major advantage over the majority of mixed martial artists.
Punk has made millions in the WWE and can put as much effort into this MMA career as he pleases. Against opponents who spend 40 hours a week in a cubicle, that is a profound, undeniable advantage, even if he is later to the proverbial party.
The UFC has had some truly untalented fighters step into the cage this year, and Punk’s defeating them is undeniably possible.
There is no timetable for CM Punk’s MMA debut, and as such he is free to fight whenever he becomes comfortable. If he takes his time and waits until late in 2015, he will likely have put in more reps on the mats than anybody outside the UFC rankings.
That’s no small thing, and it might just be enough to let him silence his doubters.
CM Punk will officially join Brock Lesnar as the second former WWE champion to make the transition to MMA and compete in the UFC.
The former professional wrestling star made an appearance Saturday night on the live pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 181&nbs…
CM Punk will officially join Brock Lesnar as the second former WWE champion to make the transition to MMA and compete in the UFC.
The former professional wrestling star made an appearance Saturday night on the live pay-per-view broadcast of UFC 181 and shocked the world with news that he had signed a fight deal with the UFC.
There were hints leading up to Saturday night’s announcement that some kind of deal could get done. UFC President Dana White expressed interest in signing Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, during an interview Friday on The Jim Rome Show. He even teased Punk debuting against an opponent of equal MMA experience.
Not only has Punk never fought, but he also doesn’t have a world-class wrestling background to lean on like Lesnar, who was immediately fed to the wolves upon entry into the UFC.
Despite the obvious trail of bread crumbs, it was still a bit of a surprise to hear that Punk would actually be competing in the UFC and not commentating or some other suit-and-tie-type gig.
“I’d say my professional wrestling days are over. I’m sure I’m gonna have to do plenty of wrestling [in the cage],” Punk told UFC commentator Joe Rogan. “…The idea of being able to step into the Octagon and find out what’s inside myself and test myself is an opportunity that I was not able to deny myself.”
Moments after Punk’s announcement, Twitter lit up with mixed reactions from MMA fighters and professional wrestlers.
With no official fight date or opponent in sight, Punk told Rogan that he plans on doing a test weight cut to decide if he wants to compete at middleweight or welterweight.
He has yet to make a decision on which fight camp he will joining.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
When CM Punk signed with the UFC last night MMA fans, pundits and every pseudo-journalist in between lost their minds either with glee, bemusement, or disgust.
There’s not necessarily one “right” way to look at the issue of the UFC signing CM Punk (whose real name is Phil Brooks). Is he killing MMA’s credibility? Yes. Is he going to be a big draw and help the UFC out of a rut? Yes.
There’s a lot going on here. Let’s look at CM Punk’s UFC signing in depth…
CM Punk is killing the UFC’s credibility
Oh, undeniably. The argument here is signing CM Punk turns the UFC from legitimate athletic endeavor [Ed’s note: LMAO]into celebrity boxing.
Proponents of this theory are, well, kind of accurate. During the Reebok sponsorship press conference last week, the UFC boasted about the Reebok deal bringing them in line with the NFL and other major sports organizations. While the realities of that statement are dubious, it’s clear the UFC wanted viewers to leave with that “fact” as a key takeaway.
But would an NFL team sign CM Punk as a QB just because he might draw ratings and sell tickets? Hell, NFL teams wouldn’t even sign perennial attention-getter Tim Tebow who’s an actual football player. And as Bleacher Report‘s Jonathan Snowden pointed out, even Michael Jordan had to start in the minor leagues when he wanted to play baseball.
The NFL, NBA, or any other big league would never sign a 36-year-old with zero sports background just for attention and a bit of quick cash. These organizations care about legitimacy or at least the illusion of legitimacy. They want to convey class and prestige. They’re athletic contests, not Dancing with the Stars.
By signing CM Punk, the UFC admitted they are an entertainment company first and a sport second. While this has arguably been true since day one, they’ve never gone out of their way to make it so apparent before.
More takes after the jump.
(Future UFC middleweight champion CM Punk. / Photo via Getty)
There’s not necessarily one “right” way to look at the issue of the UFC signing CM Punk (whose real name is Phil Brooks). Is he killing MMA’s credibility? Yes. Is he going to be a big draw and help the UFC out of a rut? Yes.
There’s a lot going on here. Let’s look at CM Punk’s UFC signing in depth…
CM Punk is killing the UFC’s credibility
Oh, undeniably. The argument here is signing CM Punk turns the UFC from legitimate athletic endeavor [Ed’s note: LMAO]into celebrity boxing.
Proponents of this theory are, well, kind of accurate. During the Reebok sponsorship press conference last week, the UFC boasted about the Reebok deal bringing them in line with the NFL and other major sports organizations. While the realities of that statement are dubious, it’s clear the UFC wanted viewers to leave with that “fact” as a key takeaway.
But would an NFL team sign CM Punk as a QB just because he might draw ratings and sell tickets? Hell, NFL teams wouldn’t even sign perennial attention-getter Tim Tebow who’s an actual football player. And as Bleacher Report‘s Jonathan Snowden pointed out, even Michael Jordan had to start in the minor leagues when he wanted to play baseball.
The NFL, NBA, or any other big league would never sign a 36-year-old with zero sports background just for attention and a bit of quick cash. These organizations care about legitimacy or at least the illusion of legitimacy. They want to convey class and prestige. They’re athletic contests, not Dancing with the Stars.
By signing CM Punk, the UFC admitted they are an entertainment company first and a sport second. While this has arguably been true since day one, they’ve never gone out of their way to make it so apparent before.
Signing CM Punk does not diminish the UFC’s credibility because they never had any
The response to the above take is that the UFC was never credible, so signing CM Punk is fine. There’s a bit of truth here.
Tell me, when was the UFC a credible sports league that never dabbled (or outright prioritized) entertainment over athleticism? Was it when we had Art Jimmerson fighting with one boxing glove on? Was it when Kimo walked out to the cage bearing a crucifix? Was it when Cabbage fought Tank Abbott? Was it when Kimbo Slice starred in a season of The Ultimate Fighter? Was it when the UFC signed James Toney?
The UFC was never a paragon of athletic virtue. And while the company might be married to sports now, entertainment is a frequent mistress.
This isn’t a modern development. It’s just that now people like complaining about it. Nobody whined when their favorite Pride stars murdered Japanese pro wrestlers. So why get angry about CM Punk?
CM Punk is the savior of the UFC
This is a super-controversial opinion despite loads of data supporting it, but the UFC isn’t doing so well these days. In fact, you could go as far as saying the UFC is doing badly.
Now, I’m sure after reading that a portion of you have jumped down to the comments to write “Y U HATE MMA, CAGEPOTATO!!!11????” If you’re still here though, you’re a reasonable human being who will reach reasonable conclusions upon hearing about the UFC’s business woes. The UFC’s profit dropped 40% this year, and Standard & Poor’s might downgrade Zuffa’s debt for a second time come 2015. PPV numbers are in sharp decline and TV ratings aren’tdoingmuch better.
Signing CM Punk represents a glimmer of hope (or desperation, depending on your viewpoint). Punk will draw PPV buys. Maybe not as many as Brock Lesnar or Georges St-Pierre, but certainly more than the current stock of “big” names on the UFC’s roster.
That can only be a good thing, right? Yes and no. It’s good if the people this publicity stunt attracts ultimately become fans and go on to buy PPVs featuring people other than CM Punk. It’s bad if CM Punk does one or two PPVs, leaves, and brings all the hype and eyeballs along with him. If that happens, the UFC will have humiliated themselves for a little bit of easy money.
Bellator is the new UFC
A white hot take, but perhaps one with an atom of quasi-truth to it (or maybe like a quark of quasi-truth).
Last month, Bellator signed Aaron Pico — an 18-year-old wrestling wunderkind with an amateur boxing background as well. Of course, when you point out anything positive about Bellator people will scream “ORTIZ VS. BONNAR! ORTIZ VS. BONNAR!! ORTIZ VS. BONNAR!!!”
And that’s fair. Bellator is engaged in its share of ridiculous pro wrestling chicanery. Yeah, Bellator is adding disgraced UFC has-beens like Stephan Bonnar to its stable of fighters. However, the Pico signing indicates they’re bringing in guys like Bonnar just to add some (fading) name value to a card filled with serious prospects like Pico.
Meanwhile, the UFC signed CM Punk. CM Punk is a “fighter” who is all name and no substance — in other words, the complete opposite of Pico.
Of course, Bellator has their own pro wrestler in Bobby Lashley, but he at least had an athletic background and was more than an MMA fan with time and money to kill, looking to cross something off his bucket list.
CM Punk is the new Brock Lesnar
This comparison fails once you go beyond the fact that they’re both pro wrestlers.
Yeah, they both were WWE champions at one time. That’s it. They don’t have anything else in common, at least athletically speaking. Brock Lesnar was an accomplished amateur wrestler and a tremendous athlete. CM Punk is a 36-year-old BJJ hobbyist with an injury-addled body and zero competitive athletic background. His career arc in the UFC will not mirror Lesnar’s in any way, save for maybe ending with an ass-kicking and jumping ship back to WWE.
This might sound unnecessarily harsh but comparing the two men insults one and falsely inflates another.
Can Punk be the new Lesnar in terms of PPV buys though?
Maybe. Part of Lesnar’s allure is that in addition to being a genetic freak (and a pro wrestler), he actually had skill enough to win a title. Punk does not have that and never will.
So what do we make of CM Punk, UFC Fighter?
CM Punk is a professional wrestler and BJJ weekend warrior who has the spare time and spare change to take an MMA fight. The UFC is happy to broadcast that fight for PPV dollars. This hurts the UFC’s image, but there wasn’t really much of an image to hurt. MMA has always been a circus act masquerading as a real sport, and now we have a real-life pro wrestling carnie to add to MMA’s menagerie of characters. What’s so bad about that?
Phil Brooks has zero professional UFC fights. He has zero amateur fights. He’s spent his adult life as CM Punk in the world of professional wrestling, which is certainly athletic but not competitive in a traditional sense.
And still, he said that signi…
Phil Brooks has zero professional UFC fights. He has zero amateur fights. He’s spent his adult life as CM Punk in the world of professional wrestling, which is certainly athletic but not competitive in a traditional sense.
And still, he said that signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship was the easiest decision he’s ever made.
“It was actually a really easy decision to make,” Brooks said at the UFC 181 post-fight press conference. “Time will tell how wise of a decision it was. I’m excited. I finally feel there’s something I can put 100 percent of myself into and I will get 100 percent back.”
Brooks said the deal, which has been in the works since early November, is something he has been thinking about for a long time. He is a devout practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and trains under Rener Gracie. But he is 36 years old and has no UFC fighting experience. To hear him tell it, he’s doing this because he wants to challenge himself, and because he wants to send a message.
“I’m not going to try to give you some inspirational message. There are a lot of kids out there that look up to me, or at least I think there are,” Brooks said. “I always tell them: do not let anyone tell you that you cannot do something. Choose a path and work towards it to the best of your abilities.”
Brooks is not the first former WWE superstar to make the leap to the UFC’s Octagon. Brock Lesnar, one of the best big men ever in the world of scripted wrestling, made the leap and captured the heavyweight championship. But Brooks said he’s no Lesnar, even though he welcomes the comparisons as favorable ones.
“If someone is going to compare me to Brock Lesnar, I’ll take that. I think I’m a little cuter, though,” he said.
Brooks said he is currently 200 pounds and is targeting a debut in the middleweight division. But he won’t rule out a move to 170 pounds, he said, especially since he’s losing weight due to his new training schedule. And he has not picked a training camp, but said that he would not be cherry-picking training partners.
“I am considering them all,” Brooks said when asked about training camps. “I need to go somewhere that’s best for me. Being the WWE guy, I’ve been in gyms across the country where I walk in and guys are like, ‘hey, let’s break the fake wrestler’s arm.’ And I just wanted to roll or to sweat. So I have to make sure I’m comfortable with everybody.
Reaction to the signing was mostly negative, with many assigning freak-show connotations to the deal. Brooks said he’s staying off Twitter and staying away from the negativity for the time being, but that he knows the backlash will be severe. But, he noted that the UFC is a business, and that while he considered fighting outside of the Octagon to get his feet wet, the real big business will be his first fight.
“If I went somewhere else and lost the first fight, it would lose some luster,” Brooks said. “But I was willing to do that, and I still am.”