Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC / Zuffa LLC
On December 6, during the live broadcast of UFC 181, the promotion announced the signing of Phil “CM Punk” Brooks.
There is no time table as to when the former WWE Champion, CM Punk will first enter the Octagon. However, I’m sure many are pleading their case to be on the eventual fight card — one of which is current UFC lightweight Joe Lauzon.
“Anyone would be a fool to not want to fight on that card,” Lauzon told MMASucka.com. “When Brock Lesnar first came, he was a huge draw. Then he goes out there and wins the freakin’ title. Do I think CM Punk is going to go out there and win the title? Probably not. He’s not even exactly sure what weight class he’s going to be in. So I don’t think he has everything as figured out as he would like, but I would love to be on that card.”
Just after the signing was announced, Lauzon took to his official Facebook page to ask fans if Punk was the real deal. Initially he wasn’t sure the former pro wrestler was, or what he had to offer, but he did know that it was going to be ‘interesting.’
“I always thought it was going to be interesting. I think I made a joke about how I’ve got to ask my little cousin, my little cousin Markie, is the biggest CM Punk fan, like ever. I think overall, it’s very very good for the sport. There’s some people saying, oh he’s taking up a roster spot for someone else that’s has worked harder at it or more marketable or deserves to be there and that’s a bunch of crap; there’s a huge roster, there’s 450 guys on the roster. CM Punk is going to bring a lot of eyeballs to that fight, to that event and that’s good for everyone. That’s good for the UFC, that’s good for FOX, that’s good for every other fighter that’s on that card and it’s great for whoever he’s fighting. There’s going to be a lot of people that maybe wouldn’t care otherwise, that are maybe going to become fans. Some of those guys would have never tuned into the UFC otherwise and they’re going to become fans and that’s great for all of us. I think there are a lot of other guys that don’t have that kind of star power and don’t have that ability to draw fans in, aren’t drawing eyeballs and it’s good for everyone.
“He could be one and done. He could go out there and do terrible and it won’t matter. A lot of people are going to tune in that wouldn’t have otherwise. If he goes out there and he does well, then that’s great for the sport. Because more people are going to be excited about that and even more people are going to tune in next time. Overall I think it’s very very positive, but there’s going to come a time when he has to step in that cage and he’s going to have to fight and he’s going to have to be the one that cares if he belongs there or not.”
Lauzon spoke to another fellow UFC fighter and TUF 5 cast mate, Cole Miller about his thoughts on Punk. Having trained with him on several occasions, Miller believes he will beat guys in the UFC.
“I talked to Cole Miller, because he was tweeting something about it, and he said he’s legit and he will beat guys in the UFC. He’s never had a time where he can train consistently; he will beat guys that are in the UFC. Is he going to become the champ his first fight? No. But there are definitely going to be entry level guys that he can beat.”
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Listen to the rest of the Lauzon interview, this Thursday on Sucka Radio. He will share how his son Joey is doing, his financial stability last year having only one fight, his battle with Al Iaquinta at UFC 183 and more.
