CM Punk’s long awaited MMA debut against Mickey Gall has finally been made official for UFC 203 in Cleveland on September 10th.
The former WWE superstar confirmed the news himself earlier today during an appearance on the second episode of the ‘UFC Unfiltered’ podcast.
Punk had been rehabbing a herniated disc issue up until recently, but he finally got the all-clear to get back to training 100% yesterday, and he immediately called UFC president Dana White to nail down the date for his debut.
It’s been a long road to the Octagon for Punk, who first signed for the UFC in 2014. Given that he has no previous MMA experience, he’s had to undergo extensive training at the Roufusport gym in Wilwaukee since then, and with injuries thrown into the mix, it’s taken the best part of two years to get to the point where he’s ready to compete.
Punk’s first opponent, Gall, is also a relative newcomer to the sport with just two professional fights to his name so far. He was first spotted by Dana White, who saw his debut win during filming for his ‘Looking For A Fight’ reality show.
After his first round submission win, Gall actually got on the mic and called out Punk. White quickly warmed to the idea and while an initially scheduled fight between the two fell through earlier in the year, Gall went on to make a successful UFC debut with another submission victory against Mike Jackson in February, and now finally gets his wish to welcome the WWE star to the Octagon.
UFC 203 is set to be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between current champion Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem, while former title holder Fabricio Werdum also takes on Ben Rothwell on the main card.
