CLEVELAND -- Despite coming up on the wrong side of his debut performance in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, CM Punk was happy to have gone through the experience of a training camp and fight day for the preeminent mixed martial arts organization in the world.
And although Punk’s debut yielded a first-round submission loss to welterweight up-and-comer in Mickey Gall at Quicken Loans Arena on September 10, 2016, competing in the UFC was an experience he enjoyed.
“The process was magical,” Punk said in his post-fight press conference. “I’m just disappointed. I’m beating myself up way more than I got beat up. I’m supremely disappointed, but I, aside from the outcome, wouldn’t change anything for the world. Just being out there under the lights was the most fun I’ve ever had. Second-best day of my life. The first one was my wife, when I married her.
“I wanted to win. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to perform. It didn’t happen.”
Punk will go through that “magical process” of preparing for a fight once more.
Nearly 21 months to the day that Punk first set foot in The Octagon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment superstar will make a return to mixed martial arts in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, for the UFC 225 event on June 9.
“I definitely want to keep going,” Punk said after his debut. “I just fell off a bike. I’m not going to shelve it and leave it in the middle of the street. I’ve got to get back on and ride.”
At the outset of his debut, Punk, who was making his not only his UFC but mixed martial arts debut, charged toward the center of The Octagon, Gall shot in and was successful with a takedown. After utilizing a double-leg takedown, Gall pushed Punk against the cage fence and dropped his opponent to the mat.
Punk landed all six of his shots in the clinch, but Gall threw sharp elbows early in the first round that opened up his opponent. Gall continued to pepper Punk with punches and elbows, landing 26 of his 39 attempts in side control or full guard.
Punk attempted to roll away from Gall’s strikes, but gave up his back, which left him vulnerable for the rear-naked choke.
“The switch was flipped,” Punk said. “I was happy. I didn’t really think how the crowd would react, but they showed me love, and you can’t help but smile at that, and it felt good. I felt like I was, in a way, back where I belong. I was happy. It felt right, and it felt good. I was ready to fight.
“There’s probably an alternate reality where I win and I’m still disappointed in myself. That’s just who I am. I’m just really, really hard on myself. I lost and it sucks, and it was lopsided, and it’s upsetting, but I know I’m better than that.”
And now, nearly two years after making his UFC debut, the 39-year old Punk will get his chance to prove that belief inside The Octagon.
