The much awaited Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debut of CM Punk has finally been made official after his long rumored challenger, Mickey Gall, won over Mike Jackson at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas on Saturday, Feb. 6.
Gall made a good account of himself, forcing Jackson to submit in 45 seconds to formally become the first opponent of Punk. Even though his performance was short, it seems that he may pretty well go for the same tactic — punch hard and force his opponent to submit.
With the pairing settled, the only thing left right now is when that historic match will happen. The best bet is perhaps at UFC 200 this July or anywhere before 2016 ends as reported via Yahoo Sports.
As far as expectations are concerned, UFC President Dana White remains mum on what to expect from Punk who has yet to show how he can fare in the UFC.
Right now, White is more concerned on giving Punk the chance of fulfilling a dream; although if the 37-year-old star loses lopsidedly, it will be up to him if he will continue to fight on or stop, according to Fox Sports.
"He will decide what he wants to do after that," says White.
There is no word for now on the status of Punk's training. Back in December, Punk suffered a setback when he got injured and thus had to stop training at the Duke Roufus's academy in Wisconsin.
From there, nothing was mentioned if Punk continued his training, although his appearance at the Gall–Jackson fight could be an indication that he is already back in training for his much awaited debut.
Punk has zero mixed martial arts (MMA) experience, a reason why there are some who are apprehensive of what he can do. He is different from Brock Lesnar who went on to become champion, plus the fact that he is entering a territory at very ripe age.
