Why CM Punk Will Never Fight in the UFC

This past weekend, the UFC announced that CM Punk had signed a contract for the UFC to fight in 2015. This was a big time news story for the UFC and will undoubtedly get them a lot of mainstream publicity. If CM Punk steps in the octagon, it will no doubt be one of the UFC's highest selling PPV's of the year. However, I still do not think CM Punk will ever fight in the UFC.

To become a mixed martial artist at the caliber of the guys in the UFC, it takes incredibly difficult training that involves a ton of pain and misery. Don't get me wrong, pro wrestling training is on the same level as UFC training, so it is not that I don't think Punk is tough enough. It's that he's 36 years old and has a body that has been ravaged by pro wrestling industries. With that against him, it will be incredibly tough to make it through a proper training camp.

Punk seems like a guy who is doing this to do his best, and I think his body will not allow him to do that. He is making the step up from hobbyist to fighter, and that is an incredibly large leap. He has primarily focused on jiu jitsu, but full honesty, jiu jitsu is one of the easier martial arts. It's fairly easy to stay injury free as the people you are training with are looking out for your health. Most people can handle that, and I think Punk can probably handle the striking aspects as well. But man, that wrestling part is brutal. Mentally or physically, wrestling will break you. It breaks everyone. A guy with no real wrestling experience cannot go through the proper training in one year to prepare himself for a fight in the UFC.

And that last point is the biggest issue. There is no way to train for a year and be ready to fight in the UFC. The UFC will do everything they can to make it happen, but I have serious doubts he will ever get in the cage. Even if he does, it will only be a UFC fight by name. It will not be the caliber that people are used to seeing in the UFC, because no athletic commission will give him a legitimate UFC fighter. He's going to be fighting a guy with a couple pro fights and no elite skills. And that's best case scenario.

Nothing against Punk, but I don't think he'll ever end up fighting. I think he'll struggle with injuries and realize that he can't put on a fight that is worthy of his own high expectations. I know this post seems negative, but it is nothing against CM Punk. He has an incredible opportunity, and it makes sense for him to take full advantage of it. I hope he proves me wrong, and if he does, I can guarantee I'll be watching.