The cat is out of the bag. After the behemoth that is Brock Lesnar, another WWE figurehead will be trying his luck at mixed martial arts.
Just a few days ago, company president Dana White revealed that he was interested in getting in touch with the former WWE champion for a possible deal. But on Saturday night, CM Punk (Phil Brooks in real life) has made his signing with the UFC official during the UFC 181 broadcast.
The news was broke after the lightweight bout between Tony Ferguson and Abel Trujillo, when Brooks himself spoke to UFC analyst Joe Rogan.
"My professional wrestling days are over, it's awesome to be here," he said in jest. "This is something I've wanted to do for a long time."
The 36 year-old former professional wrestler broke his ties with the WWE in January, after alleging that he was given an unfair treatment by the company, particularly by chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
But his fanaticism for UFC and mixed martial arts had been made known for a few years now, as he has made himself visible in various UFC events. He also trains Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Ryron and Rener Gracie of the renowned Gracie family in their Torrance, California Academy.
The only would-be problem though is that Brooks has got zero experience competing against the top competition in mixed martial arts, let alone training at a high level. And while people may mention Brock Lesnar as an example, it can be different against Brooks' case as he does not have the outright strength advantage that can overwhelm people unlike Lesnar.
This predicament alone has made people question the said decision made by the UFC, particularly other fighters themselves. The most vocal of them all was current ONE FC welterweight champion Ben Askren, who is also a teammate of UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.
Askren and the UFC haven't been on good terms as of late, mainly because of failed negotiations for a contract, which the fighter mainly blames Dana White for.
Just after the news of Brooks' signing was announced, Askren immediately took shots at the UFC and White on Twitter.
"All you dummies believed @danawhite when he said I need more experience. Then he signs a 0-0 fake wrestler. LOL on you," he wrote.
Former lightweight contender Din Thomas also voiced out his dissatisfaction.
"The @ufc signed the wrestler," he tweeted. "It was supposed to be @Benaskren"
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