Dana White says CM Punk is being thrown to the wolves in UFC debut
CM Punk may be a former WWE superstar but he's definitely not getting a cupcake fight for his UFC debut this weekend in Cleveland.
That's the message from UFC president Dana White, who says Punk will get the chance to live out his dream to fight in the UFC on Saturday night, but his matchup with Mickey Gall is anything but a gimme.
Gall is 2-0 as a professional with three more wins as an amateur and most believe he's a top prospect who would have eventually made his way to the UFC roster regardless of this matchup with Punk.
In other words, Punk may be a draw but that doesn't mean he's being handed an easy win just for the sake of promotion.
"I don't think there's any defending the matchup. I'm friends with CM Punk, it's been his dream to fight in the UFC forever, he wanted to do it so I gave him the opportunity. The thing is when we do fights like this there's no gimmick fights," White said when speaking to "The Fight Life" in Cleveland. "Even when Brock Lesnar came into the UFC, we throw the kitchen sink at him.
"This is no 'oh let's bring CM Punk in and let's give him a set up' — this kid Mickey Gall that he's fighting is nasty."
Gall was discovered as part of White's own reality series "Lookin' for a Fight" and he made an impressive debut in the UFC back in February when he tore through Mike Jackson to officially earn the shot at Punk.
When Punk steps into the Octagon on Saturday he will have been training for about 18 months since signing with the UFC while coming from a background with zero combat sports experience.
Despite his superstar status, Punk isn't being gifted anything for his debut because the day he said he wanted to be a UFC fighter, it was time for the former professional wrestler to face real UFC talent.
"He's fighting a real guy, he's been training hard for a year and a half with Duke Roufus, one of the most respected guys in the business and they all respect how hard this guy's been working," White said.
Odds makers have Gall as a four-to-one favorite over Punk in the fight taking place at UFC 203 on Saturday night.
Punk has stated that win, lose or draw in his fight against Gall that he's a full time mixed martial artist now and he plans on competing in the UFC several times regardless of the outcome for his debut on Saturday night.
