CM Punk Debuting in UFC 203 September 2016

The former WWE Superstar CM Punk, aka Phil Brooks, will finally make his UFC debut this September, the MMA leader announced. His debut in the octagon will come September 10, 2016 against Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in Cleveland, Ohio. They'll have an undercard match as welterweights, with Stipe Miocic defending his heavyweight title against Alistair Overeem in the top slot.

CM (Chicago Made, natch) Punk left the WWE in 2014, seeking an MMA career, but his debut has been delayed a few times. He has trained since January 2015 with Duke Roufus and Roufusport MMA Academy, where two former UFC champs also train. He was injured training in October of last year, delaying his UFC debut for the first time, and had surgery for a herniated disc in February, delaying it further.

He'll continue his fighting career under his existing ring name of CM Punk, and made his debut announcement on the official UFC Unfiltered podcast (listen above), which he appeared on ahead of Dwayne The Rock Johnson. Punk joined the show at the 9:35 mark, and talks about his fight from 11:07 to around 17:00.

CM Punk has written a few comics for Marvel Comics, including the Drax ongoing series. That character, of course, is also associated with former WWE Superstar and actor Dave Bautista who plays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. He has a great love for comicbooks, and even wore outfits at WWE events designed by Chicago-based artist Jill Thompson.