CM Punk joins UFC, will fight in 2015
By Brett Okamoto | ESPN.com
LAS VEGAS -- The UFC has signed former WWE professional wrestler CM Punk to fight in the Octagon.
The promotion announced the signing during its UFC 181 pay-per-view broadcast on Saturday. CM Punk, birth name Phil Brooks, is 36 years old. He has never fought professional mixed martial arts.
UFC president Dana White said Brooks intends to fight at middleweight -- 185 pounds -- but said he'd be open to possibly 170 pounds.
'He wanted to fight here,' White told ESPN.com. 'He wanted to give it a shot so we gave him an opportunity. It's not like Brock Lesnar. We're not going to throw the kitchen sink at him. Lesnar had a wrestling background. He's going to fight a guy who is 1-0, 1-1, 2-1 -- something like that.'
White said Brooks has been training jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts for an extended period of time.
'He's been coming to fights for a long time and after his WWE contract was up, he called me and said he wanted to give it a shot. I said, 'Alright. We'll give you a shot.' '
In addition to Lesnar, who went 5-3 over his MMA career, other WWE stars have tried their hand including Dave Bautista (1-0) and Bobby Lashley (12-2).
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