CM Punk Talks Taking Punches, Brock Lesnar in UFC

Contracted UFC fighter CM Punk has been doing a number of media appearances in preparation for his fights in 2015. Punk, who will now be billed as Phil “CM Punk” Brooks, signed a multi-fight deal with UFC. In numerous interviews, Punk noted that his first match is currently slated for sometime in the fall season of 2015.

One of Punk’s recent media appearances saw him spend the day with ESPN, appearing on some of its programming. Additionally, ESPN.com has published an interview between Punk and its MMA columnist Brett Okamoto.

Okamoto asked Punk one of the basic questions surrounding his jump to UFC, “can he take a punch?” Punk would answer the question, and also talk about how that was one of Brock Lesnar’s shortcomings during his stint with UFC:

“I suppose the easy answer to what Brock’s shortcomings were that he probably needed to spar more. Everyone always likes to say Brock hated getting hit in the face. I don’t know who likes getting hit in the face, but I guess he did need to work on his stand-up defense. You get punched in the nose, your eyes water. When it happens, will I turn around and run? No, that’s not going to happen. I’m going to do my best to avoid that punch, but if it lands, I’ll be OK.”

The “Best in the World” also discussed if his time in WWE was comparable to that of a professional sport:

“That’s a fascinating question. I think it varies. Some days, I felt like, ‘Yeah, what we do makes us athletes.’ And then there were situations when I’d feel pretty silly about what I was doing — if you’ve got to dress up like Santa or you’re getting beat up by Santa. You’re watching part of the show, thinking it’s a little suspect.’ Overall, pro wrestling is no joke, though. Everybody in it is an athlete to some degree.”

“You’ll find comparisons [to the physical needs] between the two. Cardiovascular speaking, that was my shtick. I was never going to be the biggest or most chiseled, but nobody was ever going to make me tired in the ring. Endurance is something I definitely have. There are a lot of similarities in that aspect. It’s go, go, go. I think there is a friendly competition between the wrestlers to see who the best is. Who can blow the other one up cardiovascularly. That was always kind of fun.”

Be sure to check out the entire interview with Punk and Okamoto, here.