CM Punk appeared on Fox Sports Live Wednesday to talk about his new deal with the UFC. Here are the highlights.
* Punk said that he feels great. He said that he was surprised at the amount of positive feedback but only scrolled through his Twitter briefly. He said that he knows he’s a polarizing figure and knows plenty of people want to see his demise.
* He said he wasn’t sure if he deserved a shot in the UFC, and time would tell. Punk said that respect is earned, not given.
* Punk said that he can’t approach MMA with a fear of failure, even though there’s a big chance that he could fall flat on his face. He said after crapping his pants on national TV, he’s not scared of anything.
* He still hasn’t decided on a weight class or a fight team, but he said he’s leaning towards middleweight. Punk said surrounding himself with the right people is key to his success. He doesn’t want to go somewhere that people begrudge him for getting the opportunity. He said sticking near Chicago is important to him.
* When asked about sparring time, Punk said he’s only had a few opportunities to spar full-on and it was with inexperienced people. He said that striking would be his weakest point. He said that he’s trained Brazilian jiu jitsu so infrequently that he considers himself a “white belt for life.”
* He said Dana White and Vince McMahon may be similar in some respects, but so far he’s being treated the way he wants to be treated in the UFC. Punk says Vince has his way of doing things and is stubborn, but Dana White is stubborn as well. He says the two are similar, yet different.
* Punk says he wishes he would have gotten into MMA earlier, and says many other wrestlers would have went to MMA if the money was better earlier, pointing out Kurt Angle.
* Punk says his favorite fighter all-time is Dan Henderson, and joked that his favorite current fighter is himself. He then says he’s a big fan of Daniel Cormier and Conor McGregor.
* Punk also said that he was excited about the Chicago Cubs signing Jon Lester, and spoke about his love of the Chicago BlackHawks.
