CMMA Punk

Going up, I was big fan of professional wrestling.  I don't really watch it anymore.  I stopped being interested in WWE long ago when the storylines were being pushed too far for my liking and I wasn't seeing enough action.  One guy that I've heard about a lot is Phil Brooks AKA CM Punk.  I saw a match or two of his.  He's a very talented performer.  

Recently he parted ways with the WWE.  To many people's surprise he's been signed to the UFC.  Keep in mind he's never been in a MMA match.  He's 36 years old which is a bit old to be entering this.  The UFC is the biggest promotion in MMA.  There's a lot of people balking at this.

I'm not one of them.

Dana White was asked why he signed Brooks, and he answered.  It boils down to this is a dream of Brooks who is a legit martial artist and he doesn't have enough time on the clock to work his way up through the amateurs.  Brooks gets to live his dream and get paid.  The UFC gets a ratings boost and Brooks' fanbase will be checking out his fights, so there's the potential to gain new fans.  Brooks brings more to the table than fighting ability, and these are things that are well established.  If he does well in the Octagon then that's even better.

This is a win all the way around for all involved.  Is it fair that Brooks gets in when there's other fighters who have been working their butts off to get noticed?  No, its not.  Still, White and the UFC doing something like this generate interest and revenue which keeps the organization going, and keeps them around so there's a platform for these fights to work towards.

I'm looking forward to watching Brooks fight, and wish him well.  Its going to be a tough road for him as his likely weight classes are packed with great fighters.  The last pro-wrestler to enter UFC was Brock Lesnar who did indeed win the championship, but the heavyweight division was a little light when he did it.  We'll see what happens.