Former WWE superstar CM Punk is finally set to make his UFC debut in two weeks at UFC 203 in Cleveland, and the mixed martial artist in training says he can't wait to get out in the Octagon and show the world what he's got.
Punk met with media on Monday at Roufusport MMA Academy, where he told reporters that he's feeling good now that we're just weeks out from his long-awaited debut.
“I very much have a ‘can't wait til it's over with' kind of feeling,” Punk said during the Roufusport media day. “I want to get it over with because I'm ready. I feel ready, I'm prepared. Being here for five hours a day has made me feel that way. So it feels nice, there's like a relief, there's a calm. I'm excited, there's a little bit of nervous energy, but it's all positive.”
Punk's road to the Octagon has been a bumpy one. He first announced his intention to move from professional wrestling to MMA back in December 2014, and he was immediately devoured with criticism with commentators saying it'd be nearly impossible for him to take real fights at the highest level and claimed he was stealing a spot from a “real fighter”.
But almost two years and a heap of injuries later, Punk is still working at his goal of fighting in the UFC. And even though it's taken him close to 24 months to debut, Punk says the timing won't matter once he finally steps into the Octagon because he expects to show up and surprise a lot of people come fight night.
“I don't care if someone wants to make fun of my technique, how not crisp my right hand is. It's gonna land,” Punk said. “That's the punch I care about, the one that lands. Tell me I didn't turn my wrist over soon enough, I don't care, it landed. And I think that's how I'm going to surprise a lot of people. Whether it goes three rounds, whether it goes three seconds, my hand will be raised. That's what I expect. I expect to show up in the best shape of my life, happiest I've ever been, and happy looking in the mirror before the fight, knowing job well done.”
UFC 203 takes place on September 11 (Australian Time). It will be headlined by a Heavyweight Title fight between Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem