10 Reasons CM Punk Might Actually Succeed In UFC
He's got a lot of doubters, but it's not all doom and gloom.
CM Punk certainly has his doubters - there's no question there. When the announcement came that Phil Brooks had signed with the UFC, it was met by shock and scepticism among fans on both sides of the wrestling/MMA divide, not to mention fans with a passion for both.
Nearly every website, newspaper, and sporting outlet examined the struggles Punk would experience transitioning to the world of MMA, where the matches aren't pre-determined. He did the media rounds and faced intense scrutiny in interview after interview about who and when he would be fighting, what his experience level really was, and whether he could take a punch. Few, however, took a look at why he might succeed. Has Punk been unfairly judged a loser in this venture before it even got off the ground?
That's an interesting question. You might think that no one else in the modern era of MMA has ever walked into a top MMA promotion and taken a fight - but is that really the case? Yes, Brock Lesnar had huge success as an amateur wrestler in college, and fought once outside the UFC, but why compare Punk to the physical freak of nature that is Brock? Why not compare him to someone like Herschel Walker instead, a man with no fighting experience prior to embarking on a brief stint in Strikeforce where he went 2-0.
Yes, Walker was a high level athlete and NFL legend - but so to is Punk a high level athlete, with a skill set all his own. And like Punk, Walker was a big crossover story when he made the jump - yet he didn't face nearly as many detractors. Walker wound up undefeated, against two fighters with a combined record of 5-5, which in reality isn't that bad.
Punk could easily have the same sort of success. Lets look at why.