CM Punk Reveals UFC Approached Him, Insists MMA Venture Is Not A Publicity Stunt

In an in-depth new interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, CM Punk has shed a lot of light into how he came to sign with the UFC, and just how he is approaching his MMA career, which has attracted it's fair share (if not more so) of criticism thus far. Punk, who may now debut at UFC 199 in June against Micky Gall, a fighter discovered on UFC President Dana White's show Looking For A Fight, has never had a pro or amateur MMA bout - and lacks any background in combat sports or athletics. However, the former WWE champion was well known as a big mixed martial arts fan who trained casually with Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Rener Gracie, and obviously made a splash when his signing with the UFC was announced. In regards to that signing, Punk suggested that his retirement from wrestling was something he considered as early as 2010 - and that MMA was a consideration at the time. As for how it finally went down, Punk indicated the UFC came to him. According to Punk, White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta came to him with the idea in 2014, and he jumped at the chance.

Part of my reason for most of the decisions I make in life is I don€™t want to have regrets. I talked to Dave Bautista and he€™s a great guy to talk to about this kind of stuff because he did the same thing. He said, €˜You€™ve got to do it. You€™ve got to chase your dream. You€™re going to wake up one day and realize that you were presented an opportunity and you could have done it, but didn€™t.€™ So it€™s a big reason.

Punk also addressed criticisms of his MMA crossover attempt;

It€™s just human nature. It€™s the society we live in. Look, there€™s only one thing people love more than their heroes, and that€™s stomping them into the ground.

He went on to state that at the end of the day, what people think of him is "none of my business." What is Punk's business is his upcoming fight, very possibly against the aforementioned Gall at UFC 199, though Punk is still holding out hope with respect to appearing on the anticipated UFC 200 show. In regards to Gall, Punk actually had some praise for his potential opponent;

I like it. I definitely like it. He€™s a feasible opponent. And everybody should call me out. I€™m like a bizarre lottery ticket. He didn€™t really trash talk. I know he€™s going to, but he seems like a nice kid.

With a win at UFC 196, that nice kid would be 2-0 as a pro, but that doesn't seem to bother Punk much;

I get in my own head and at the end of the day, I€™m my biggest critic and I€™m my worst enemy, too, I can be hard on myself and I can get down on myself. But then I€™ve had those days where I€™ll catch someone in a submission or get a takedown or maybe I stuff a takedown and I can see I€™m improving.

My confidence grows and I feel on top of the world on those days. There are good days and bad days. I€™m never going to be a finished product, so to speak. I€™m always going to be learning.

And as far as Punk's MMA career is concerned, according to Punk, this is not a publicity stunt. Not that many really phrased it that way, exactly (more simply question a 0-0 fighter jumping straight to the UFC - even Brock Lesnar fought outside the world's biggest promotion first), but many have certainly criticized his signing. Per Punk;

I€™m 100 percent serious about this. I wouldn€™t devote this much of my life and have gone through all of this for a little bit of publicity. I can get publicity a lot more easily than I can by training to fight. I€™m fighting because I love to fight and compete. When you get right down to it, that€™s what this is all about.

Makes sense. All eyes will be on Punk's debut in just a matter of months, though first, CM Punk fans might want to see how Gall fares at UFC 196.