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This weekend Phil “CM Punk” Brooks will make his long awaited mixed martial arts debut at UFC 203 (current odds) against Mickey Gall. Much has been made about Punk since his signing with the Ultimate Fighting Championship was announced back in December of 2014. Without a professional fight under his belt, he’ll get an opportunity that longtime MMA fighters may never get: a chance to appear on the main card of a pay-per-view.
It’s the equivalent of somebody who loves hockey getting a shot at playing center in the all-star game without any experience. It’s like Serena Williams starting for the Los Angeles Sparks without ever scoring a point on a basketball court. Or how about Tim Tebow being signed by a Major League Baseball team just because he wants to swing a bat. Never mind the last one.
Heaps of criticism has been launched at Punk since his signing as fans waited for the day that he’d finally step into the cage. His training videos have been ridiculed and mocked by both fans and fighters alike. Oddsmakers aren’t giving Punk much of a chance with Gall being as high as a 4-1 favorite. All of this is for good reason considering that all Punk has going for him is a noteworthy career as a professional wrestler. But as far as being a fighter is concerned, he’s done nothing.
But no matter what happens at UFC 203, CM Punk wins.
He’s expected to lose and even he doesn’t seem to be overly confident about the outcome of the fight. He shouldn’t have ever made it this far. Yet, here he is. Ridicule him all you want, but you have to give him a little credit for stepping into the Octagon. Granted, nobody is happy that he has major placement on a PPV card. But that’s not Punk’s fault. He didn’t ask to be on a PPV. If he was offered a fight on the UFC Fight Pass prelims or an obscure Fight Night card, it’s likely he would have fought there. The reason for his placement is strictly business. You cannot blame the man for that.
Ultimately, this is the hurt business. With so many ways to lose, it takes a lot for an individual to want to step into the cage with no fighting experience and fight under the bright lights. And for someone who spent much of his life performing under the bright lights of the WWE (and before that his tenure at Ring of Honor), the idea of being on a big stage probably means nothing to him. All that he has is his skills. Good or bad, he’s locked in a cage with no escape. Ask your friends if they’d be willing to do it. Most would say they wouldn’t. But Punk is getting the opportunity to live out his dream of competing for the biggest mixed martial arts promotion in the world.
The skepticism is well earned, however. Unfortunately, there’s nothing any of us can do about it. He’s a novice on a big stage and, like it or not, we’re all going to be watching.
But what if Punk wins? Then what? Surely, he’s not going to leap into title contention anytime soon. But it certainly would be a shock if he were to pull off the upset. If he were to win, that would open the door for others like him to try their hand at mixed martial arts. Very few would have the fanfare that Punk has, but it would have a lot of people who thought about giving mixed martial arts a try a push. And for the UFC, it gives them another chance to put the star on a major PPV and cash in on his celebrity.
At the end of the day, everyone wins. We’re going to watch, Punk is going to get his fight and the UFC is going to get a few more eyeballs than any other normal fight. And if he wins, well, that’s a whole different conversation.
Andreas Hale is the editorial content director of 2DopeBoyz.com, co-host of the boxing, MMA and pro wrestling podcast “The Corner” and a regular columnist for Sherdog.com. You can follow on Twitter for his random yet educated thoughts on combat sports, music, film and popular culture.