Former decorated pro wrestler CM Punk is set for his much anticipated debut in the world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) on Saturday. Punk, 37, whose real name is Phil Brooks, takes on Mickey Gall in a non-title welterweight bout at UFC 203.
The event is headlined by a UFC Heavyweight title bout between the champion Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem. Watch the event LIVE here.
Former heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum takes on Travis Browne in the co-main event, also in yet another heavyweight fight. However, the action which most of the fans are looking forward to is the one between CM Punk and Gall. The former WWE superstar was expected to make his octagon debut last year itself, but a series of injuries pinned him down.
However, after some struggling times and with him having fortunately recovered, Punk, who signed with the UFC in December 2014, will be expected to give his all, not only to make a stunning impact in the world of MMA but also to prove his plethora of critics wrong.
"I'm a polarizing person, so people get caught up in hoping I fail," said Punk recently in an interview to Sports Illustrated. "And just like success, failure is a perspective. If I go out there and lose a split decision, then I lost the fight. But did I fail? I don't know. Everybody has a different perspective.
"Winning is different based on your perspective, just like success is different based on your perspective. I'm not sure how often I win at things. To me, just doing this is winning. I don't think about shocking the world or changing everybody's mind, but I just think about going out there and doing what I was taught to do and showing people that, if you want to do something, then work hard at it and it can be done."
Punk's opponent at UFC 203, Gall, meanwhile, means sheer business on the fight night. "Saturday night is going to be the best night of my life in the cage – I can't wait," the 24-year-old said. "It's going to be the best 15 or less minutes of my life for sure."
"I am the most hungry fighter in my weight division."
UFC 203: CM Punk vs Mickey Gall schedule:
Date: September 10, 2016.
Venue: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio.
Time: 10 p.m. EST / 7 pm PST (7:30 a.m. IST, 3 a.m. BST, 1 p.m. AEDT)
TV listings: Sony Six/HD, Sony ESPN/HD (India), PayPerView (US, Canada), BT Sport 2 (UK), Combate (Brazil), Main Event (Australia).
Main card:
Stipe Miocic vs Alistair Overeem - UFC heavyweight championship
Fabricio Werdum vs Travis Browne - heavyweight bout
CM Punk vs Mickey Gall - welterweight bout
Urijah Faber vs Jimmie Rivera - bantamweight bout
Jessica Andrade vs Joanne Calderwood - women's strawweight bout
