Ever since signing with the UFC at the close of 2014, CM Punk has heard almost the entire roster of fighters voice their opinions on his decision to debut in the Octagon with no formal fight experience under his belt.
Some have been welcoming, other have been rather harsh, but Punk understands that opinions are going to vary and everyone is entitled to say whatever they want whether he's listening or not.
Just recently at UFC 200, Punk had a run in with Nate Diaz, who said when the former professional wrestler signed with the promotion that it was "horrible for the sport.”
Punk has heard from plenty of detractors since inking his deal with the UFC, but this was a chance to come face to face with a voice of opposition who clearly didn't like his addition to the roster.
And then out of nowhere, Punk realized that Diaz wasn't there to dress him down for coming to the UFC, but instead offering a word of apology for what he said before.
"UFC 200 I was doing an autograph signing and the guy I was signing the autograph for started like pointing behind me and I heard someone like yelling my name and I turned around and I was on a riser and Nate Diaz was on the ground and he was like 'hey man come here’," Punk explained when speaking to FOX Sports recently. "I was like 'what's up?' and he was the nicest (expletive) guy.
"I don't know if he'll get mad and this will ruin the image of Nate Diaz, but he was like 'hey man, I talked some (expletive) before and I don’t know you and I'm sorry’ and he's like, ‘Gilbert (Melendez) and Ronda (Rousey) said that you're a cool dude and they love you’ and I started looking around for the cameras. I was like all right. I thought that was super, super cool of him. Super nice guy."
While Diaz apologized for what he said previously, Punk has heard from plenty of other who all have a negative opinion about what he's attempting to do on Sept. 10 when he faces Mickey Gall at UFC 203.
There has been some anger pointed at Punk that he's going to debut for his first fight on the main card of a pay-per-view, which is a coveted spot for most competitors who have been climbing the ranks for years just to get that opportunity.
The motivation behind some of the backlash could also be financial because Punk will undoubtedly rake in a hefty payday for his debut fight, which would be considered a rarity amongst almost every other MMA fighter in the world.
Punk was very outspoken about his former job in professional wrestling when big stars like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson would come back from outside the promotion and end up taking a marquee spot from WWE performers who have been there working night in and night out just hoping for that same opportunity.
Punk says the comparisons aren't exactly the same to what he's facing right now in the UFC, but he understands why those lines would be drawn.
"I know a lot of people will draw that comparison like I was very vocal and outspoken about part timers in professional wrestling. You can draw the parallels but it's kind of like apples and turnips," Punk explained. "There's guys that are work horses in professional wrestling that I still feel every year will get overlooked for the big stars and all that, but this it's different in the aspect like the UFC doesn’t have a cap on the number of fighters they have under contract and the number of active fighters is always changing.
"You could say that there's a guy like Mickey who wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for me. Jealous? I don't know. Maybe a little bit. I understand that. Was I jealous of "The Rock" when he came back to main event two WrestleMania's when I felt like I needed to main event? I don't think jealous was the best word to best describe that so I don't know if I can use that same word in this situation."
Whatever opinions have been about Punk for the past two years, he'll look to silence all the critics when he finally makes his debut against Gall next Saturday night in Cleveland. At that point, Punk can proudly say he's no longer a rookie and instead just another name on the UFC roster.
