It's Clobbering Time!!

The past 12 months of Phil “CM Punk” Brooks life has been a roller coaster to say the least. After the Royal Rumble in January, Punk left what he thought was a dream job at WWE. Finally soured by numerous injuries, a perceived lack of respect by his bosses, and a general unhappiness. After getting married in June, he was largely out of the public eye, returning to Twitter to feud with the Los Angeles Kings mascot. Then on Thanksgiving, Punk became the most talked about man in pro wrestling again, by recording a podcast with friend Colt Cabana, explaining why he left WWE. Then, on Saturday night, he dropped a “pipebomb” after the opening fight on the UFC 181 pay-per view.

It still feels surreal, but there was CM Punk alongside Joe Rogan to announce that he has signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC, expecting to fight in 2015. A lot of the details are still unknown. Punk may fight in the middleweight (185 lb) or welterweight (170 lb) division, he still has to decide which fight camp to join (he is a Gracie brown belt in Jiu Jitsu), and he has no timetable for when the fight will be.

Immediately after the news broke, MMA fans were up in arms, claiming the UFC has jumped the shark. Pro wrestling fans weren’t kind to Punk either, hoping he gets his ass kicked and comes crawling back to join the infamous Mr McMahon Kiss My Ass Club. Like in all things, the truth really lies somewhere in the middle.

While Dana White has criticized his competitors Strikeforce and Bellator for trying to pull a big rating by promoting “freak show” fights like Herschel Walker, Kimbo Slice, and Tito Ortiz (in 2014); the Baldfather isn’t immune to doing it before either. Does anyone remember when James Toney fought Randy Couture? And there’s that Brock Lesnar guy too. Fact of the matter is one fight isn’t going to ruin the credibility of the UFC. If Punk comes in and falls flat on his face, I would think it would benefit MMA, by proving that not just anyone can step into the Octagon. 

MMA is in a weird phase right now. It is coming down from it’s fad period, where everyone would order every UFC pay-per view, and has become a legitimate sport.  UFC has landed on Fox Sports One from Spike TV, where you see the next fight being advertised right alongside with that weekends football games. Dana White is a promoter first and foremost. The very essence of the word means that he is trying everything he can to put asses in the seat, whether in the arena or on the couch ordering the show.  CM Punk is an attraction that doesn’t come around very often. He appeals to the male 18-35 year old demo the UFC markets to. If you poll people off the street, they will be able to pick Punk out of a lineup before Jose Aldo, the featherweight champion who hasn’t loss since 2005. 

At 36 years old, CM Punk decided that he “lost his smile” in pro wrestling, so he left. Punk has been a devout MMA fan for years, showing up cageside for multiple UFC events. Through interviews with Ariel Helwani you can tell Punk has a real passion for MMA. He has every right to try living his dream of having a fight. However, I don’t know if he should start at the top of the food chain in the UFC. 

Like indy wrestlers, there are tons of weekend MMA fighters all around the world. They leave their blood, sweat, and tears on the mat for little to no money, because they love the sport. If Phil Brooks wasn’t CM Punk he wouldn’t be able to have his debut fight in the UFC. He has become Dwayne Johnson, taking Punk’s spot at the main event at Wrestlemania. Right or wrong though, that is the fight business, whether you’re doing it in the Squared Circle or the Octagon it’s all the same when it comes to money. 

UFC 181 was the promotion’s biggest event of the year. Anthony Pettis retained the lightweight title, becoming the first person to finish Gilbert Melendez. Robbie Lawler completed his comeback (he first fought at UFC 37 in 2002) by defeating Johny Hendricks in a rematch of their Fight of the Year candidate. However, all everyone wanted to talk about was CM Punk. Nobody knows what the future holds, but Dana White and CM Punk have gotten people talking.