CM Punk UFC Debut: Dana White Talks About Ex-WWE Superstar's First Fight in the Octagon
Many wrestling and MMA fans are waiting for the debut of Phil "CM Punk" Brooks two years since he signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC. UFC President Dana White recently appeared on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast and revealed that Punk is close to his debut after undergoing therapy for his injured shoulder.
"So what happened was, Punk got hurt. He hurt his shoulder and he was [expletive] devastated. He was going to have to have surgery, but he didn't. He actually lucked out and got out of surgery with therapy. And so he went through his therapy and he's coming back now," White said as quoted by Wrestle Zone.
According to a report by MMA Junkie, CM Punk was originally scheduled to have his UFC debut by the end of 2015 or at the start of 2016, but a shoulder injury suffered in training forced him to delay his first fight inside the octagon. His coach Duke Roufus revealed in an interview with ESPN that the former WWE champion is looking at six to 10 months of recovery and training before he is ready to make his debut.
However, the 37-year-old appeared on The MMA Hour last month and revealed that most of the pain on his shoulder was gone and he resumed light training. He also talked how he injured his shoulder during a sparring, but an MRI showed that there was no tear on the labrum or rotator cuff.
During a UFC Fight Club Q&A in Melbourne, Australia before UFC 193, White also said that Punk may debut right around summer next year. "He'll fight. I'm going to say before summer. Probably before summer. Listen, he doesn't have any fights yet, man. Let him take his time and work his way in," White said via MMA News.
The report notes that next summer, the UFC will be holding the most anticipated event in its history, UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The rematch between Daniel Cormier and Jon Jones as well as Holly Holm vs. Ronda Rousey may both happen at the event.
White also talked about his relationship with WWE superstars in Joe Rogan's podcast. He revealed that many wrestlers are UFC fans and he's cool with them. "Anytime I've ever had any type of interaction with a WWE star, they are really good people, really nice, totally respectful, and really just the best people to deal with, so I have nothing against professional wrestling at all," the UFC president said.
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