Former WWE Superstar and current UFC Fighter Phil "CM Punk" Brooks have so many critics including fellow MMA fighters and fans, who do not think he deserves to be inside the Octagon, as well as wrestling fans, who are still fuming because he left the sports entertainment industry. Roufusport teammate Ben Askren thinks that all of CM Punk's critics are just jealous of him, per MMA Fighting.

"He's been famous, he's made a lot of money, and he's got a hot wife. There are a lot of things about him that people would probably be jealous of. I would guess that's it," Askren said.

The former Bellator and current ONE welterweight champion was one of the first critics of Brooks and the UFC, especially when he was signed. Askren was not signed by the UFC because president Dana White said that he needs more fighting experience, but he signed a guy who has no experience in combat sports.

Now, the 31-year-old has nothing but respect for his teammate. He also told MMA Fighting that they have become friends and his family was recently at Punk's home to watch a UFC event.

"He's in the gym all the time and he's training all the time, so that would sure be a lot of effort to put into a publicity stunt. You'd think if it was a publicity stunt he'd maybe show up once a week or once a month. For a while before he was injured, he was in there twice a day, every day," Askren said.

The head of Roufusport, Duke Roufus, said in an interview with ESPN that Brooks suffered a shoulder injury during his training that pushed back his debut in 2016. He added that the team is looking to prepare him to fight in the next six to 10 months, and it will be perfect for him to make his debut at UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas.

In a separate report by MMA Fighting, an MRI on the Chicago-native's injured shoulder showed that there was no tear on the labrum or rotator cuff. He is still waiting to get clearance from his doctors to resume full training but has started doing some light training like jump rope and biking for 20 miles a day.

Many of Punk's haters have said that they don't see him fighting in the UFC ever. The former WWE champion responded when he appeared in The MMA Hour. "I don't get paid unless I fight. Why the hell wouldn't I fight? So I can get paid," Brooks said.