The UFC during the Zuffa era took what SEG did and marketed the hell out of it, creating a ‘real sport’ in the process. It wasn’t like PRIDE, which had worked/gimmick fights, for the UFC was as ‘real as it gets’, where you had to fight your way to the top. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, CM Punk was brought into the UFC. It rubbed people the wrong way, because it was a joke.
As a guy who watched/watches gimmick fights, I didn’t mind. What I objected to was the way the UFC tried to sell us his entrance into the organization, that it was a serious attempt at fighting and Punk was a worthy martial artist. He clearly wasn’t. At all. I will always bring up the time they (his gym) finally released videos of him sparring, and doing ‘simulated fights’, because it was horrific. He was below average. I’m talking about below average for the adult male population, not amongst fighters. He was clearly a can, but the only one who didn’t know it was Punk himself, which brings me to the OP. (He took a decent paycheck in order to fight at the highest level — again, not hating, but let’s not act like it was inspirational.)
It’s clear that Punk is a toxic person. People like Cornette et al. have been defending him for years, yet the stories have piled up. Jack Sperry might be in the wrong, idk, but Punk gets no props for beating up a trust fund acrobat.
