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Punk to UFC


Shining Wiz

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Hahaha.

 

I am a huge fan of Punk. When Punk is motivated, great worker and promo. Also, seems like a cool guy. But yikes. I personally know dozens of no-name MMA fighters in the Texas fight scene that I would bet my life savings on to beat him in a MMA fight. Also, Dana White/Zuffa/UFC is carny as fuck, and has its fair share of issues.

 

Punk in Rebook gear should be amusing though.

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This whole thing is so funny to me.

 

Would this be comparable to Punk's criticisms on The Rock or am I off-based here?

Not entirely off base, but not entirely comparable either.

 

 

Reason I ask is I remember Dana White publicly said that Jon Fitch made 1.3 million over the course of his UFC career, acting like that was an impressive amount for a guy who had countless fights in one of the toughest weight-classes in MMA. Punk is probably going to make more than that, if he actually goes through all three fights. He'll probably make more than someone like Nate Diaz -- who has fought against a who's who in entertaining fashion inside the brutal lightweight division -- has for years inside the UFC.

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I feel like this whole thing is just going to get fans of both WWE & UFC at each other's throats. I'm sure WWE will be right there doing goading of their own as well because they have certainly shown a history of being petty.

 

If C.M. Punk loses, WWE (or people within WWE) will say that he's a has-been, a joke, took his ball & left, etc.

If C.M. Punk wins, WWE will say he had to go to UFC because he couldn't cut in the WWE, or whatever.

 

So in that regard, it'll be a no win situation. I'm not sure if UFC will ever say anything or not, I guess Joe Rogan might.

 

I'm curious, admittedly, of if he's any good or not...but I don't foresee good things. Who knows how long it'll be until his fight though..."2015" could mean next December against a nobody.

 

It will probably be best to attempt getting dragged into any sort of internet conversation about WWE Vs. UFC, pro-wrestling Vs. MMA, Punk as a fighter or wrestler, etc. I imagine it'll be ugly on both sides.

 

Good for Punk though. It sounds like something that he has wanted to do for awhile & I hope he gets his money. I'm sure Dana White will get his too, off the buzz that will undoubtedly follow this.

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Good luck to Punk. Two thoughts:

 

Lesnar's leverage for his next negotiation with both WWE and UFC just went up.

 

Punk's stock for the WON HOF just went up with certain voters.

 

He'll be a no brainer to a bunch of them if the first fight draws. I can't imagine it not drawing, if only for the trainwreck appeal.

 

The comics thing was kind of funny because 8 years or so ago, there would have been a huge backlash because it would have meant another seasoned writer was getting passed over by an outsider (usually a low level TV guy; for instance, a Kimmel writer just got pegged to do a three part story at Marvel). That's not nearly as big a deal anymore because A) they've pulled so many people that it's become a desensitizing thing and b ) because of the Marvel movies, you get more earnest participation from these writers instead of just guys who are slumming.

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He never really came across as a legit fighter in his work.

 

This is something surreal, beyond a publicity stunt. It's a shoot on the ultimate rib, making the rib play as a work.

 

Grab The Brass Ring = Go Make More Money Elsewhere and Become More Valuable Than My Shitty Product

 

What Vince doesn't get though, is that MMA is a fucking shoot and even I will pay money to see if Punk gets his ass beat or not.

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He never really came across as a legit fighter in his work.

 

This is something surreal, beyond a publicity stunt. It's a shoot on the ultimate rib, making the rib play as a work.

 

Grab The Brass Ring = Go Make More Money Elsewhere and Become More Valuable Than My Shitty Product

 

What Vince doesn't get though, is that MMA is a fucking shoot and even I will pay money to see if Punk gets his ass beat or not.

 

His mentality is clearly "I'm gonna train hard and give it my best shot". It's a very tall order for someone his age who's been so beat up by wrestling and trained BJJ as a hobby to step into UFC, but more power to him for having the balls to do it. That alone is an accomplishment and a victory. If he trains his ass off for 6-8 months and goes in there and gets killed, at least he can say he wasn't afraid to do it. Nobody holds it against Yuji Nagata that he tried his hand at MMA and got killed in his fights, or any of the pro-wrestlers who tried it without years of experience or training. From Punk's perspective it's something he's been passionate about for a long time, he has the name value that allows him an opportunity to do it and get paid handsomely on the biggest stage in the sport, and that alone is a big accomplishment. And for UFC, they're as carny as wrestling promoters when it comes to booking fights, so it's obviously a huge win for them. Their business has been down and Punk fighting is going to draw so much interest for them, they just need to find the right matchup for him with a guy who's an interesting opponent but not totally overmatch him. It makes UFC look like less of a "legit sport" but anyone who follows it already knows that the matchups and rankings are all about who draws eyeballs and money. They cut a couple top 5 ranked fighters over the last year because they were boring, unpopular fighters

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Looks like he'll be going in at middleweight or maybe welterweight.

I see middleweight as the better fit for him in terms of it being more natural, I can see him losing a lot of speed if he cuts down to welterweight and in that division with guys with such a low centre of gravity and core strength it might put him at a disadvantage.

Even if he stays at Middleweight its not like they are gonna throw him in right away with, I dunno, Yoel Romero say. According to Dana White, who obviously is a paragon of virtue and would never, ever lie, he'll debut against someone with something like a 1-0 or 1-1 record. He's not gonna be hot shotted to a title challenge like when Lesnar, who had more of a legit background and was fighting in a weight class much more devoid of competition at the time than maybe MW and certainly WW is at the minute.

I'd have been watching anyway so Punks signing doesn't sway me, but you stick him in as the headliner on a Fight Pass prelim and its the difference between me finding time for the prelims in my schedule and me not.

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If this is what Punk wants to do to keep himself busy, good for him, and it would be great if he succeeds and all. The big problem, I feel, is that Cabana mentioned in passing that Punk had 13 concussions, and as everyone knows with concussions, the more you've had, the easier it is to get another -- and that's worrying.

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I don't feel bad for the "UFC fighters whose spots he is stealing!" because whoever gets to fight him is going to come out of the fight with 100x more name recognition than when they went in. There's honestly no reason to expect Punk to be able to beat anyone, especially in a lower weight class. It's not like Brock coming in to fight heavyweight, which is generally the weakest division talent wise.

 

I think it's kind of a silly move for Punk, but I know it's something he wanted to do, he talked about it ever since that interview with Ariel Helwani back before he left WWE. I don't think Punk is worried about getting beaten or embarrassed (although I expect he will) I think it's just an opportunity for him to do something he wanted to do. And for Dana White it's an opportunity to sell PPVs which is something he's been having a lot of trouble with lately. Honestly, I see it as a win for everyone involved. Even if I'm personally not interested at all while I was SUPER stoked to see Brock fight.

 

One thing to keep in mind though is that Dana has already said he's not treating Punk like Lesnar and immediately throwing him in with the wolves.

 

 

It’s not like Brock Lesnar. We’re not going to throw the kitchen sink at him. Lesnar had a wrestling background. (CM Punk) going to fight a guy who is 1-0, 1-1, 2-1 — something like that.”

 

Dana will do everything he can to find him a tomato can for at least the first fight because Punk winning the first fight sets up an even bigger buyrate for the 2nd.

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Exactly. This is the promotion that haven't yet matched up their Irish cash cow (hey, I love Conor Mcg, but its true) against a decent wrestler. They'll probably put Punk in there with someone who at least in theory might not be too much of an over the top mismatch. If he wins, he's gained some legitimacy. If he doesn't, as has been pointed out, whoever he is fighting gets a bigger name for themselves.

How the UFC responds to the first fight, whether its a loss or a win, in who they choose for Punk to face next, is the more interesting future development for me.

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Then it's the issue of "why is this 1-0 fighter in the UFC," too. They certainly have hired tomato cans before, though. Eddie Sanchez and Joey Beltran come to mind. In the case of Beltran, he turned out to be much more than one after he beat Rolles Gracie (who was expected to choke Beltran out).

 

I basically view this similar to James Toney. Except James Toney was legit, just old, out of shape, and broke.

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The 1-0 comment is interesting because even for TUF they require either 3 fights or 3 wins (I forgot which one).

 

But it's fair as well as SMART.

 

I wonder if Alberto Rodriguez will start getting shootfights too - can't see UFC but I imagine him trying to get a fight or two maybe for Inoki. It's perfect because he could fight Ishii and/or rematch Crocop.

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