CM Punk News: Ex-WWE Superstar Talks About Delayed UFC Debut
The fate of former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar turned forthcoming MMA fighter CM Punk remains to hang in the balance.
In December 2014, the UFC made the formal announcement that Punk (Phil Brooks in real life) would be joining its roster, with a possible fight at the end of 2015. However, those initial plans have been delayed after he suffered a shoulder injury during training in October of last year.
A new debut date for the 37-year old Punk has been set, this time, for 2016. So much so that the UFC went on to find a prospect opponent for the famous sports entertainment superstar, in the form of New Jersey-based figher Mickey Gall.
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The UFC caught the eye of Gall through company president Dana White in his online show "Looking for a Fight". White, however, first stipulated that Gall would need to fight in the UFC first, which he did against Mike Jackson at UFC Fight Night 82 last February 6th.
Gall did fulfill his end of the deal by emerging victorious via first round submission. Right after the fight, he was met by Punk inside the Octagon to receive some congratulations. However, the said fight has been put on hold, after Punk pulled out once again due to a herniated disk on his back, which required surgery.
The procedure has been deemed successful, however, no fight date between Punk and Gall has been made final yet. In his recent appearance on MMA Fighting's 'The MMA Hour' show, Punk was candid about his feelings on once again delaying his much-anticipated UFC debut.
"I felt like sh*t about it. I wanted to tell everybody, but it was also a case of let's just see where this goes and see what happens," Punk said. "I got the MRI Friday night and I was literally diagnosed Saturday, right before I walked out to watch Mickey and Michael Jackson."
Punk has expectedly received more backlashes from fans because of the incident. But for him, all the hatred actually serves as a driving force to move forward.
"I'm the kind of guy who focuses on positive stuff, because when you're alone and you're in your own thoughts, you can drive yourself crazy listening to the negative," he said. "But yeah, the negative stuff, the haters, that drives me."
