After months and months of speculation about CM Punk going back to the WWE, he stayed true to his word when he said he will never go back. True enough, he won't be as he already signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship last Sunday night at UFC 181.
Phil Brooks, the real name of CM Punk, was in attendance at the UFC 181 to discuss his career in mixed martial arts with UFC President Dana White. And there, the signing of contract happened. This isn't a big shocker as White already announced Friday that Brooks will be there.
UFC's Joe Rogan interviewed Brooks live to talk about his new career in the UFC.
Brooks said, "My professional wrestling days are over, it's awesome to be here. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time. I have a background in kempo (karate) and I've been doing Brazilian jiu-jitsu for a long time."
WWE is clearly no longer an option for Brooks. He has turned his back on pro-wrestling and no longer has the desire for it, citing the bad working conditions as his reason for leaving the WWE. Now, Brooks, looking into his career deeper, realized that being in the MMA is the last stretch in his athletic career.
"I felt like it was now or never. I have a limited window most fighters don't have. I'm either here to win or get my a– kicked ... This is my new career. I'm going to go full steam ahead, all systems go," Brooks told Rogan.
When the announcement was made, UFC and WWE fans couldn't believe it. Many took it for a joke and eventually patterned Brooks with Brock Lesnar. However, White had this to say:
"He wanted to fight here, he wanted to give it a shot, so we gave him an opportunity. He's not going to come in like Brock Lesnar did and f—ing fight – we're not going to throw the kitchen sink at him like we did Lesnar. Lesnar has a real good wrestling background. We'll put him against someone who's 1-1, 2-1 or something like that. He wanted to do it and we're going to give him the opportunity."
As to what weight class Brooks will fight in, he will need to do a test weight cut first. MMA Junkie notes that he may likely compete in the middleweight division, but he can also fight at welterweight. Right now, Brooks is still unsure what camp he will train with and the exact date of his debut. Nonetheless, it will most likely be in 2015.
