CM Punk’s UFC debut is one of the most anticipated events among both pro wrestling and MMA fans. The pro wrestling fans – well, most of them – want to see him go in there and dominate his first opponent, while most MMA fans want to see the opposite happen. The fact is that people are eagerly awaiting the time when the former WWE Champion is ready to compete, but no one really knows when that will be.
Originally, both UFC President Dana White and CM Punk himself said that he would be ready to go by December of this year . Well, now it’s looking more like January of next year, if not later. Well, it may actually be later – a lot later, because there is a rumor going around that CM Punk won’t make his UFC debut until UFC 200, which will take place 12 months from now. If the UFC and Punk decide to wait until then, that’ll mean Punk will have had nearly 20 months of full-time training under his belt, which would probably be for the best.
The UFC is expecting that CM Punk will be a major draw for them on pay-per-view, much like Brock Lesnar was, although there’s not a whole lot of people in the history of the UFC that have drawn the kind of money that Lesnar did during his short tenure in the company. So, with that in mind, the UFC does want to protect Punk when he makes his debut, but at the same time they don’t want to give him an opponent that will be considered a joke just so Punk will be able to pick up a win in his UFC debut.
The argument for waiting until UFC 200 to debut Punk is a pretty good one: UFC 200 will be the biggest show in the history of the company. It’ll likely have two title fights on it, which may include Ronda Rousey defending her title, and Conor McGregor defending his title if they’re both still champions come July of next year. So, already it’ll be a massive event. So, with that in mind, Punk can fly under the radar, and he wouldn’t have as much pressure on him as he would if he was by far the biggest star on the show.
There’s also a chance that CM Punk could fight on the UFC 200 card even if he’s not making his debut on the card. If Punk fights in December or January and wins without taking much damage, he’ll have six months to recover, train, and fight on the UFC 200 card in July of 2016.
[Image via MMA Fighting ]
