7 Things We Learned From CM Punk's Pre-Fight Interview With Ariel Helwani
1. What Is He Most Looking Forward To From This Weekend?
The MMAFighting.com reporter inquires as to what Phil Brooks is most looking forward to out of this weekend, and he simply replies "winning". Ariel asks him if he dreams about it a lot and if it's constantly on his mind, and Punk replies that he does, adding that normally he has a good handle on what's going on in the world around him but this week he's solely focused on winning his fight.
Helwani talks about how many fighters utilise the method of mentally acting out moments and sequences from upcoming fights, and Punk admits that he does that as well, saying that he's big on visualisation. He talks to Chicago Blackhawk player Duncan Keith quite often and they swap training philosophies and that's something he picked up from him.
Punk credits Conor McGregor as someone who is great at putting something out in the world - such as his prediction that he would knock out Jose Aldo with the left hand - and then making it happen. Conversely, if he were to say he doesn't belong on this pay-per-view card then he wouldn't. He feels he does belong there and he strongly believes in himself in every situation.