Punk Frustrated With Injury: I Felt Like I Was Turning The Corner

The mixed martial arts (MMA) world has been somewhat eagerly awaiting the UFC debut of former professional wrestler CM Punk ever since the promotion shockingly announced that they had signed him last year.

Having never stepped foot in a cage before, not in any amateur, nor professional bouts, Punk has time and time again stated that he will not fight until his coach, Duke Roufus, feels as if he is ready, and a recent shoulder injury he suffered isn’t speeding up the process.

Although it looks as if he won’t need surgery, Punk revealed today (October 19, 2015) that at first, he thought the injury was serious:

“It was one of those pops where everybody in the room just turns and looks,” Punk told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.

Punk claims that he lucked out in not tearing anything, but he did say that the week of the MRI was pretty “miserable”, although it seems to have improved:

“I’d be fine if I could train, if I could do something,” Punk said. “But just kind of sitting around waiting for the MRI that week was pretty miserable. Riding the bike hurt. Jumping rope hurt. But it’s a lot better now.”

A set back of any kind in sports is always frustrating, and sometimes devastating, but it was especially frustrating for a guy like Punk, as he felt as if he was starting to make some serious strides in the sport:

“It’s kind of the most frustrating thing about it,” he said. … “I felt like I was turning the corner a little bit in some aspects.”

As for when he will actually step foot in the Octagon, many were thinking it would be by the end of this year, which Punk had recently stated as his goal. However, it seems as if he got a bit too excited, noting that that’s not the case:

“I’m the one that ran my mouth and was like, ‘Oh I hope I fight by the end of the year,'” Punk said. “And obviously everybody twists and contorts things that you say. For some reason a lot of people thought that meant I was fighting by the end of the year. No, I’m just an ambitious fellow.”

While tons and tons of fans will most likely tune in to see him fight whenever that may be, Punk has received quite a bit of hate, and criticism from MMA fans. Now after suffering an injury, it seems as if his haters don’t believe that he actually wants to fight, a statement Punk quickly shot down:

“I don’t get paid unless I fight,” he said. “Why the hell wouldn’t I fight? So I can get paid.”

Punk indeed wants to fight, and he’s not enjoying the time out of the gym. The former WWE star said that he’s hoping to start hitting the bag again this week, but at the same time he doesn’t want to return to quickly:

“I just don’t want to throw any more wrenches in the plan,” he said. “I don’t want to reinjure it or further injure it.”

At the end of the day, this whole situation remains largely a mystery. With no indication of when he will fight, or how he will look, it’s hard to make any sure observations, but hopefully Punk can heal up quick and we can gain some answers.

Are you actually interested in seeing the former pro wrestler in the Octagon?