Pettis: CM Punk one of the hardest workers at Roufusport

Former WWE champ and green belt in karate Phil ‘CM Punk’ Brooks took an unusual route to the Octagon. First, he decided he wanted to fight. Then he signed with the UFC. Then he started learning MMA.

It ended predictably.

However, CM Punk is not a quitter. He trained on and may fight at UFC 225 in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. His opponent the first time was then 3-0 as an amateur, 2-0 is a pro, BJJ brown belt Mickey Galli. He was a real fighter. The opponent this time may be 0-1 Mike ‘The Truth’ Jackson, who has thrown six punches while competing, landing three.

During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, Brook’s teammate at Roufusport, former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, talked about what’s happened since the ignominious loss.

He never stopped, said Pettis, as transcribed by Shaun Al-Shatti for MMA Fighting. Like, he didn’t take a break. He was right back at it. I think he had a couple injuries, but he was right back at it.

It doesn’t surprise me. He’s a competitor, man. And he loves the grind. I don’t know what else he’d be doing if he wasn’t doing this. He’s just, he’s always in the gym. So in the short time I’ve known him for his first fight to this fight, it’s the same, the dude is just pushing hard, man. He’s grinding, he’s getting better, he’s putting the mat time in, and there’s no way around getting better besides putting the mat time in.

I see him every day, man. That guy’s in the gym every day. He’s probably one of the hardest workers in the gym. He’s always there, always improving, and yeah, he’s definitely gotten better. You put that much time into it, you’re going to get better. He’s working the gi, he’s working no-gi. He’s training with top-level UFC guys inside his weight class, so I think we should see a better performance.

UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2 will be held on June 9, 2018, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.