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UFC's complicated relationship with CM Punk

3rd February, 2016
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3rd February, 2016
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Even with zero documented proof that he’s ever won an unscripted fight, former WWE champion Phil ‘CM Punk’ Brooks is gearing up for a 2016 UFC debut.

In the second fight of the night this Sunday in Las Vegas, there is a UFC welterweight bout, pitting 1-0 Mickey Gall against 0-0 Michael Jackson.

If you think that sounds like a completely inconsequential fight unworthy of the UFC’s Octagon, you would usually be right. But the stakes are high on the preliminary card bout since Gall is essentially fighting for a lottery ticket.

The 24-year-old New Jersey native has been promised a fight against Brooks – who is best known by his wrestling persona ‘CM Punk’ – if he can beat the mixed martial arts debutant at the MGM Grand Garden Arena this weekend.

Brooks, who is already 37 with significant wear-and-tear on his body after years of abiding by the WWE’s grueling road schedule, has been training in Milwaukee under famed striking coach Duke Rufus since December of 2014.

According to his sparring partners, the six-foot-two former wrestler has made huge gains in an incredibly short window, but the jury is still out on whether or not he could even beat the worst fighter in the UFC, let alone compile a winning record.

It’s an unusual decision for the MMA promotion to hire the Chicago native as a fighter, and one that rightfully opens them up to criticism.

For Brooks, it seems like a dream scenario. The past-his-prime grappler gets the chance to scratch ‘have an MMA fight’ off his bucket list, and do it in front of a humongous worldwide audience.

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The UFC, on the other hand, just seem to be preying on the public’s morbid curiosity to see another pro-wrestling champion in a ‘real’ fight.

Sure, herculean WWE heavyweight Brock Lesnar had a great UFC career – capturing the world title during his short stay with the company – but the Lesnar and Brooks cases are so different that it’s almost an apples and oranges comparison.

Lesnar was an outstanding athlete with an All-American wrestling pedigree and an NCAA heavyweight title on his mantle when he decided to test his mettle in the fight business.

Conversely, there is no evidence that Brooks has achieved anything athletically outside of the roped ring – he didn’t play college sports and was never celebrated as a superb athlete by his fellow wrestlers.

The only known story of Brooks in a genuine scuffle took place in 2004 when the 15-year pro wrestling veteran had a short-lived brawl with Teddy Hart, the nephew of Bret Hart who is best known for training his cats to perform in wrestling matches.

According to onlookers, Hart, who had previous boxing training, got the better of the altercation outside of a Nashville Waffle House before they were separated by other wrestlers.

Over a decade later, Brooks is a UFC fighter, and each time he joins a pay-per-view or television lineup his promoter will essentially be in a game of tug-of-war, trying to serve two masters in the same event – part credible sports league, and part circus.

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The ‘CM Punk’ ripple effect is shaking up this Sunday’s event as well, with two completely unqualified fighters taking up space on a Las Vegas UFC event just so we can determine an eventual dance partner for the forthcoming fighter.

There really isn’t anything wrong with Brooks aspiring to strap on a pair of fingerless mixed martial arts gloves and compete in an MMA fight, and there are plenty of places he can do that. But the UFC isn’t a place for a rookie who wants to try their luck as a prize fighter.

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