Since the announcement of his UFC signing was made in 2014, CM Punk has been bombarded by criticisms. The theme has mainly been strong skepticism about whether or not he should be part of the company’s elite roster of talents.
The former WWE superstar is still being hounded by disapproval from detractors who vehemently disagree with him being on UFC 225’s main card. But at this point, the 39-year-old Punk is no longer bothered by them.
“I could give a f—k if they watch or not,” Punk told MMAjunkie.com’s John Morgan in an exclusive pre-fight interview. “Don’t watch. If you bought the Kiss album that came out before they took their makeup off and you didn’t like it, don’t buy the f—ng album where they take their makeup off. It’s a gimmick.”
“Don’t watch. But you’re still going to go complain about it on Twitter. It’s none of my business what you think of me. I don’t care.”
Punk’s UFC debut in 2016 did not go well, as expected by many. He recognizes that he could easily be out of the company after UFC 225, but ultimately, he chooses to enter the fight with confidence rather than doubt.
“It’s not the weight-of-the-world pressure like with all the talk of I shouldn’t be here to begin with and I definitely should’ve gotten cut after the last fight,” he said. “I’m probably on the chopping block, but who knows? Maybe not. I don’t look past Saturday. It’s not like I’m tired of training and I’m sick of training and I wish I was doing something else or I have my eyes set on doing movies or becoming a pro golfer or working in the mailroom somewhere.”
“I still enjoy training every single day,” Punk continued. “I still am fortunate that can be my full-time job. I train with guys who have one or two other side jobs, and I see how hard they work, and it just motivates me to work even harder.”
“We’ll have to see what happens Saturday night, and then maybe it’s a question for Sunday morning. But I’ve got all the confidence in the world in myself and mostly my team.”
Punk faces fellow 0-1 fighter, Mike Jackson, this Saturday, June 9th, in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
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