CM Punk's UFC Debut Bumped Up?

UFC 199 now the target.

While many have speculated on former WWE champion CM Punk making his octagon debut at UFC's big show in July, the heavily anticipated UFC 200, it appears there has been a change in plans: according to UFC President Dana White, Punk's first UFC fight will now take place a little earlier, at UFC 199 in June. White broke the news while appearing on the Toucher and Rich show in Boston, promoting this past weekend's UFC Fight Night 81. That's big news for a number of reasons. For starters, it's the closest fans have had to a firm date thus far. The UFC 200 rumor made a certain amount of sense, as Punk's debut will draw eyeballs, but on the flip side, UFC 200 will likely do big numbers with or without CM Punk on the card. It was never confirmed by the UFC, but eventually, the assumption that Punk would be on the card started to feel almost official, and the promotion never quashed it. Secondly, publicly discussing the date means White is fairly confident that Punk will be fighting - and that likely means regardless of whether potential opponent Micky Gall wins his first UFC fight at UFC 196. So, does the UFC have a backup plan if Gall loses? Gall, who won the gig as Punk's first opponent after appearing on White's new Fight Pass/Youtube show Looking For A Fight, was given the caveat that he must win his first UFC bout to get a crack at Punk. His opponent, Michael Jackson, is making his UFC debut as well, and though there was some initial confusion over which Michael Jackson was fighting (MMA record go-to Sherdog originally had 11-10 Mike Jackson listed), it looks like it's an 0-0 fighter from Texas with the name who is getting the nod. However, White has said he will not get to fight Punk with a win - so are they considering letting Gall, who called out Punk on Looking For A Fight, face the ex-wrestler win or lose? Or is there a plan B waiting in the wings? Finally, this may indicate that the UFC brass are concerned about how UFC 199 will perform, and are using Punk's celebrity status to boost the buyrate. Frankly, UFC 199 has been lambasted of late, with newly crowned UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold publicly questioning fighting on a card taking place in the shadow of the promotion's milestone 200th PPV card (technically, given a couple of numbered events were cancelled, it's not actually the 200th show, but lets not worry about being technically correct). Speaking to MMA Junkie Radio earlier this month, Rockhold stated
I don€™t want to be on UFC 199, I€™ll tell you that. The hype for 200 will be so big it will take away from 199. Who wants to be on 199? I want to be on 198 or 200. That would be cool, even if I€™m not main eventing.
UFC is targeting UFC 198 for New York, despite mixed martial arts still not being legal there, and have booked Madison Square Garden. The return of Jon Jones against light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier is the rumored main event. Heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum is fighting Cain Velasquez in February, and given the slow turnaround time for heavyweight title fights, he's not likely to be on the UFC 199 card. Both Holly Holm and Conor McGregor are fighting at UFC 197 in March, with McGregor possibly fighting again at UFC 200. All other champions save for the flyweight and welterweight divisions are likely tied up elsewhere and unavailable for UFC 199 as well. You can see where this is going: there is a serious lack of possible title fight headliners for UFC 199. In fact, the only two options would seem to be welterweight and flyweight, but flyweight has proven to be the UFC's least popular division, barely surpassing 100,000 buys when headlining PPV cards. Welterweight is generally a safe bet, but should anything happen to make Robbie Lawler unavailable, the promotion could be in hot water. Ergo, book Punk for a quick fix, in what Dana White is referring to as a "tough" fight, saying;
He's just started training and, you know... this is a tough business to get into. When Brock Lesnar came into the UFC, you know, he had a serious wrestling pedigree. And not just WWE wrestling, legit collegiate wrestling. CM Punk doesn't have any of that. It's going to be tough for him.
White's right, but CM Punk the mixed martial artist has to debut eventually, and UFC 199 may be where his investment in Punk finally pays off.
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Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.