Dana White says UFC won't 'throw the kitchen sink' at CM Punk right away

LAS VEGAS — The man known to millions as “CM Punk” might come from the same professional wrestling world as former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, but he won’t follow a similar trajectory in the UFC — at least not right away, according to UFC President Dana White.

“It’s not like he’s going to come in like Brock Lesnar did … we’re not going to throw the kitchen sink at him like we did Lesnar,” White told MMAjunkie following the announcement at UFC 181 that the organization had signed Punk – real name Phil Brooks – to fight in the UFC.

“Lesnar had a real good wrestling background,” White said. “(Brooks) is going to fight a guy that’s 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, something like that. He wanted to do it. We’re going to give him the opportunity.”

The big difference between Brooks and Lesnar is one of athletic pedigree. While he’s been training in jiu-jitsu and MMA as a hobby for some time, according to White, Brooks doesn’t have the amateur wrestling background that the former NCAA national champion Lesnar did.

So will Brooks have a real career in the UFC, or will he just show up briefly to boost viewership before learning the hard way that MMA isn’t as easy as Lesnar made it look? Even White admitted that he can’t be sure.

“It’s one of those things,” White said. “He could be one and done, or he could have a career here. I don’t know. We’ll see. …He can either fight or he can’t.”

White said he hadn’t confirmed a date for Brooks’ UFC debut, but added that he’s predicting, “six months, seven months, something like that.”

Of course, signing a 36-year-old former pro wrestler with zero MMA experience forces one to wonder whether it’s a desperate play for pay-per-view buys, and at a time when the UFC’s numbers in that department are reportedly suffering. White didn’t exactly shoot down that suggestion, but insisted it wasn’t the sole motivator.

“Pay-per-views were down because we haven’t had any fights that have held together,” White said. “But yeah, this guy can definitely sell some pay-per-views.”

MMAjunkie’s John Morgan contributed to this report.

For more on UFC 181, check out the UFC Events section of the site.