CM Punk

He's officially in the UFC even though he hasn't ever fought. This is clearly a publicity stunt but it will be interesting to see oh it pans out. How does everyone else view this?

How do people over 12 enjoy this???

* Edited at 12.11.2014, 4:45 AM ET *

The thread should have ended after @swicks video post 

Just browsing upcoming events for the UFC and I think I might have found a good debut card for Punk. I have seen that UFC on FOX 16 is in Chicago at the United Center, July 25th. 

Mmmm sounds like a good time for that to happen. Later in the year with a good venue in Punk's hometown along with national exposure since it is on FOX. 

Just saying.

Punk already said his debut will be on PPV. Leading a lot of people to believe he's getting PPV points. His MMA debut is the most marketable part of this new venture. You know the UFC is going to want to cash in on that.   

Nah, I he could lose "mystique" and steam on TUF, they'd never risk it, especially since the novelty of someone of his celebrity status fighting in the UFC is actually the main cash cow and there's a huge chance that after the first time the public sees him lace a pair of gloves and try to stick them in another dude's face people will totally lose interest in wanting to see him try and do it again.

That, along with the fact that 6-8 weeks on TUF would do close to nothing in progressing his skillset I can understand why it's not even on the table.

I think the UFC are saying, he's gonna help sell on PPV and we'll see how it goes from there according to his performance. I don't think they're planning on "taking the right steps" to build him up as an MMA fighter. Everyone's pretty much aware of the fact that the chance of him being a good UFC fighter is so slim even if you do take all the right steps to build him up that it's not worth the risk of losing what revenue he can generate without it.

Putting CM Punk on TUF is honestly the worst idea I have ever heard on this site.

Just think about it for a second. Either a) CM Punk debuts against some random nub and makes a ****load of cash for the UFC in PPV buys, so that whether he wins or loses he ends up making the UFC a ****load of money at least once OR b) put him on the most stale show on television that no one except virgins watch where he won't have preferential treatment and get his ass kicked, and then ruin the possibility of ever using him on a PPV card ever again.

UFC management putting CM Punk in TUF would be the equivalent to UFC management all lining up and taking turns swinging a baseball bat at Brock Lesnar's intestines circa 2010.

Right because the UFC would rather draw the 3 million people on the face of this earth who actually have FOX Sports 1 instead of the 1 million idiots who are stupid enough to pay 70$ to watch half naked men fight each other.

^

I might be misunderstanding you but how can you say CM Punk can draw a million ppv buys? Kimbo Slice on PPV did 500k? Yes, CM Punk PPVS did massive numbers but that was under the WWE brand. The WWE brand's impact on CM Punk can't be ignored here. A lot of wrestlers have left the WWE and haven't retained their drawing power at all (Jeff Hardy, Kurt Angle, etc). He could very well end up being a PPV draw but you can't take it for granted, especially since PPV buys have been down for a few years. 

I wish they would put him against Joe Rogan, if he could just pass that damn drug test. Punk would get wrecked.

Considering we haven't seen what Punk could do, I think it's odd to be calling him of already just because he's a former pro-wrestler.

@fglop I just think that the fact that he's a) so involved in both sports as an image, b) is a known name amongst the mainstream media and c) WWE fans have been dying to see this guy doing anything ANYWHERE ever since he walked out of the promotion, all together added up, is going to equal the highest PPV numbers since Brock.

He brings revenue.

^ Lol. What. If you think he's gonna only bring in 5-6k, you're dumb. Pro wrestling is massive. Not all fans are ******* 8-year-olds with no money. Brock Lesnar was huge in the WWE in like, what, 2002? Yet he showed up to the UFC 6-7 years after and still managed to kill it. 

Now, I don't think Punk will pull in the viewership Brock did/does. Not even close. But Punk was a mega star in the WWE just a couple of years ago. He is a big name. I think that the UFC missed out on a big opportunity, as they haven't promoted him as much as they probably should have to be honest, but he'll still pull in some more viewers. 

Punk is a "WWE wrassler". You're gonna have fans of his watching to hope he can thrive in "real fighting", and you're gonna have people watching for Gall to prove that "Punk shoulda stuck to fake wrassssslin". It's a cool storyline for a lot of people. 

@Tacos Not to mention, the people who are buying for Stipe/Reem and the rest of the solid main card, haha. 

Punk will absolutely bring in a lot of buys for the storyline alone, like you said. 

This is a solid card for hardcore UFC fans, casuals and WWE fans. 

One and done if he loses badly.