UFC Fan Challenges CM Punk To A Fight At Q&A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgEkkRo3vns An unruly (and wholly ignorant) "fan" made things awkward at the UFC Q&A with CM Punk in Chicago Friday when, given the chance to have an open mic moment with the former WWE star, he brought up a past dispute the two had on Twitter - and challenged Punk to a fight. As the fan continued to press Punk on fighting him, the Roufusport-trained fighter replied "Are you a UFC fighter?" To which the fan retorted;

Are YOU? You€™re an entertainer

The hostess, Megan Olivi, tried to get things back on track at that point, but by then, the session had already become a sideshow. Questions ranged from the mundane to downright imbecilic - such as whether Punk would rather tag with Dana White or Vince McMahon. In short, it wasn't a good evening for the Punk hype train, which has lost some steam coming into the UFC on FOX 16 weekend thanks to this outing, and rumours that Punk has been granted exclusive use to his old WWE theme, Living Colour's Cult of Personality, in the UFC, something that goes against tradition.

The incident Friday, which cannot be blamed on Punk, does highlight the trouble of pushing a fighter who has zero professional fights: a certain portion of the fan base refuses to show him any respect, and are more than willing to make fools of themselves as a result. The UFC might have been better served to ramp up the Punk Promotion closer to his debut, yet instead, they've marched him out like a trained seal in advance of nearly every major UFC event this year. Of course, that means extra press coverage, something the UFC covets, but in the end, should his UFC run end in failure, it could prove to be a very short-sighted move in hindsight.