UPDATE: Punk talks why he signed with UFC
Sunday, 07 December 2014 00:00
C.M. Punk, in an interview on FS 1 after the UFC show, said that he had been interested in fighting in MMA dating back to when he was studying kempo karate in a Chicago suburb and first saw a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practice, talking about how it was after the Royce Gracie vs. Dan Severn fight in 1994.
“It blew my mind (seeing BJJ), a 145-pound skinny wiry guy fighting 350-pound bouncers.”
“It (fighting MMA) was always in the back of my mind since then. There was a fork in the road, I chose one direction. I’m fortunate to be able to revfisit things and take another fork in the road.”
Punk said finalizing the deal took time because of lawyers, but said that Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White had come to Chicago to talk with him after he got his release from WWE (Oct. 26).
“If anybody’s more excited than me, it’s Dana and Lorenzo. They came to Chicago. We had dinner and conversation.”
He said the deal was officially signed about a week ago.
UFC was hoping the deal would be signed by Nov. 17 and be one of the two big announcements scheduled for that day.
Regarding critics, Dana White said he understood where they are coming from and doesn’t disagree either.
“I am in my infininte widom and at the ripe old age of 36, trying to be less of a hothead and understand, if that’s your opinion, that’s awesome,” said Punk. “It’s my job to change your mind, but that’s not going to be one of my hangups. There need to be fighers who call me out. I hope somebody’s more creative than saying `fake wrestler.'”
Punk said he’s been training intensely for three weeks and has already dropped 15 pounds. He’s going to do a test cut to see what weight division fits him best, but it’ll either be welterweight or middleweight.
There is no timetable for him to fight, although he’s targeting some time in 2015.
“This is the first time I’ve felt butterflies in a long time, the first time I’ve felt nervous, nerves, I have a lot of people supporting me, my lovely wife first and foremost, excited to have te energy.”
“If I put in 50 percent, I’ll get 50 percent back,” he said. “Obviously I’m gong to put in 100 percent and I’ll get 100 percent back. This opportunity presented itself and there’s no way I can say no.”
ORIGINAL: In what is undoubtedly the biggest news in 2014 and coming right at the end of the year, former WWE Superstar CM Punk announced tonight at UFC181 that he has signed a multi-fight deal starting in 2015 with UFC. This news comes after an incredible week in CM Punk’s life following the 2 episodes of “The Art of Wrestling with Colt Cabana”.
Punk said in the announcement:
“It was a bucket list type thing. I thought it was now or never. I have a limited window. I’m here to get my ass kicked or kick somebody’s ass.
My professional wrestling days are over, this is my new career, full steam ahead and it’s going to be fun. My weight is up in the air, I think middleweight, maybe welterweight. Not fighting at light heavyweight.
I’ve inquired to certain camps and I’ll announce that very soon.
UFC fans, I’ll see you in the Octagon in 2015″
It’s obviously not yet known when exactly Punk will make his UFC debut or who he will fight, but rest assured he’ll be taking this seriously, and WWE will no doubt be keeping a close eye on proceedings. This is probably the modern day equivalent of Scott Hall showing up on WCW Nitro in 1996.
Shots fired.
UFC posted this tweet:
Welcome to the UFC @CMPunk! See you in 2015! https://t.co/X07ezdbmZl
— #UFC181 (@ufc) December 7, 2014
Ronda Rousey showed her delight with this tweet:
WHA?!?!?! @CMPunk!!?!!!!?!! #cantwait
— Ronda Rousey (@RondaRousey) December 7, 2014
UFC president Dana White said Punk intends to fight at middleweight — 185 pounds — but said he’d be open to possibly 170 pounds.
“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. He’s going to fight a guy who is 1-0, 1-1, 2-1 — something like that.”
White said Brooks has been training jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts for an extended period of time.
“He’s been coming to fights for a long time and after his WWE contract was up, he called me and said he wanted to give it a shot. I said, ‘Alright. We’ll give you a shot.’ “
You can watch the full interview here:
[youtube id=”eCViiT9-7DY” width=”620″ height=”360″]
More as we get it.