CM Punk spoke with SI and had some interesting comments.
“In pro wrestling, it’s fake. People always get offended by that word. ‘No, we like to say it’s pre-determined.’ For whatever reason, people get angry at fake; pre-determined eases the blow? It’s fake. At the end of the day it doesn’t really mean anything. So after a while, it was, ‘Let’s just really fight and see what happens.’ Now I get to… I’ve been thrown in the deep end. I need to be good at everything. I don’t have the base Brock did. I have an understanding of the sport, though. It’s not just about wrestling or jiu-jitsu and striking. It’s about all those things. I went to [renowned MMA trainer] Duke Roufus and said, Forget about what I little I do know. You’re my coach. Anything you say, I will do. I think Duke loved that. I’m 100 percent coachable. I’m moldable. I don’t have bad habits. Some days are good. Some days are humbling. But I love it. I’m learning every day.
… Every day [I wish I had done this earlier]. Damn it, why didn’t I do this ten years ago? I’ll watch an Anthony Pettis from five years ago and go, He was good. Then I’ll watch him fight now and think, Jesus he is like a totally different fighter. Thinking about all the knowledge I could have attained, yeah, I wish I had started earlier. But again, why dwell? Why not just fill my brain full of knowledge today… The people who are mad or think this is an embarrassment to the UFC or the sport? I used to not be able to ride a bike. So when I was learning how to ride a bike, does Lance Armstrong come up to me and say: Who the f*** are you, trying to learn how to ride a bike? My attitude is punk rock across the board: Oh, you don’t think I should do it? Well, I’m going to do it and I’m going to try to be the best I f***ing can. At the end of the day, it’s about me and not anyone else. But, yeah, I used to not be able to read or walk or ride a bike or drive a car. Those people who are down on me trying this? Shut the f*** up and don’t watch the fight.”
