“What’s his name? That f***ing wrestler guy. That f***ing punk guy. He’s injured now. He’s pussing out again.”
UFC welterweight Matt Brown appeared recently on FOX Sports’ Great MMA Debate podcast, and discussed CM Punk pulling out his fight due to a surgical procedure on Wednesday for a herniated disc. Brown too had to pull out of a fight due to a herniated disk, vs. Carlos Condit in 201 , and empathizes. However, Brown does not believe Punk has what it takes to be a fighter.
“It’s a f***ing horrible thing when it happens,” said Brown, as transcribed by David St. Martin for MMAFighting.com. “I’m going to guess that he already got the epidural steroid injection. They put it down your spine to relieve the inflammation. If not, I don’t think he would have been walking. If it’s bad enough he’s having surgery I don’t know that he would have been walking into the cage like that [on Feb. 6]. It’s possible he just gutted it out and walked up there.
“Regardless, that’s bad. I didn’t have to get surgery and that s*** is never the same. When you get surgery it’s never the same again.”
“This guy, he aint no fighter, People don’t understand what it’s like sitting in that locker room for two to three hours knowing a guy down the hall is going to try to f***ing murder you. That feeling in indescribable. The nerves, people call it fear. That feeling is not to be envied. Personally, I do envy it but that’s what separates a fighter from everyone else.
“Conquering that fear takes something different than I think most people have and I question whether CM Punk has that or not.”
There was as staredown in the Octagon after Mickey Gall earned the right to fight Punk at UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson. Brown was not impressed with Punk’s demeanor.
“Now he’s got to face this kid in the ring right after,” said Brown. “You could see there wasn’t any showmanship on CM Punk all of a sudden. There wasn’t any s*** talking, no flashiness. All of sudden it’s this humble guy and reality is setting in when you’re facing your opponent for the first time. It’s looking at you in the face. That’s only going to grow as the fight gets closer.
“In the locker room, that’s when it all comes to fruition. All that s*** creeps into your mind. Mark Coleman calls it ‘the worm of doubt.’ That kind of s***? I don’t know if CM Punk is made for that. I don’t think pro wrestling gets you ready for that.”
