UFC signs former WWE superstar CM Punk

Big news coming out of the UFC 181 PPV broadcast. Following Tony Ferguson vs. Abel Trujillo, Joe Rogan welcomed Phil Brooks, known professionally as "CM Punk" in his WWE heyday, to cageside for a special announcement. The 36-year-old ex-WWE champion announced that he has signed with the UFC, a move that had been speculated throughout the past several weeks and has now been made reality.

BREAKING NEWS: @CMPunk signs with the UFC https://t.co/1EYRYbteRg

— UFC United Kingdom (@UFC_UK) December 7, 2014

There's no word yet on which weight class he'll fight in or the details of his contract, but it's likely that Dana White will be bombarded with questions in the post-event press conference.

This is not quite on the same level as Brock Lesnar's UFC tenure, considering Lesnar's decorated collegiate wrestling career prior to his time in the WWE, while CM Punk is more a noted fan who trains BJJ with Rener Gracie but lacks any high-level experience in combat sports. Nevertheless it is a big move from the UFC's standpoint of trying to increase PPV sales in 2015.

Bloody Elbow will provide more updates as they become available.