UFC 203: Miocic vs Overeem / CM Punk's debut

[Scott Malbranque]

I loved Punk, then I hated Punk.

I thought he was right, then I thought he was wrong.

I thought him talented, then I thought him overrated.

I thought his foray into the Octagon was laughable, now I’m not laughing.

I hated Punk, then I liked Punk.

 

That sums up my minds relationship with Mr.Punk since he came into my life.

 

I really hope he proves everyone wrong and pulls off a miracle, which is bizarre, because only a few weeks ago I wanted Gall to put Punks bollocks through his areshole.

[Guest]

If he gets out of round 1, I would even consider that a success for him. Personally, there's no pressure on him whatsoever. He's got nothing to lose, and for me, it's Gall who has all the pressure on him. Imagine if he gets beat? I don't think he'd be able to live it down.

As the familiar beginning of your paragraph attests, the pressure's on Gall not only to win, but to win quickly. That above all could lead to mistakes.

[Egg Shen]

There's always a chance that Gall could be taking Punk too lightly, he's probably been hearing for the best part of a year that he's gonna destroy him, it could backfire.

 

I'm still actually shocked that it's actually happening. I give all the credit in the world to Punk, he's got some bottle. I'm anticipating the meltdown online whatever way it goes.

[theringmaster]

If Punk wins the internet will go into meltdown Sunday morning.

 

I really hope he doesn't win, it will lead to a load of wwe marks claiming this proves wrestlers are tougher than mma fighters

[wandshogun09]

If Punk wins I wouldn't say its that big an upset. I'm expecting him to get battered and sure Gall is younger and has more martial arts experience. But in the end, it's still a 0-0 novice against a 2-0 rookie. Gall could still make a rookie mistake under the bright lights and get caught with something. One thing that's maybe being overlooked is that the moment could swallow Gall up. Like lamby said, Gall is expected to piss this. And it's the biggest spotlight he's ever been under.

 

Punk beating Gall would be an upset. But it wouldn't even be the biggest upset this year, much less in UFC/MMA history terms. 2-0 vs 0-0 fights happen all the time on the smaller scale shows. If it wasn't for the fact that the 0-0 guy was a 'fake wrestler', that 0-0 guy beating the 2-0 guy wouldn't be all that shocking. It's just the 'OMG CM Punk in UFC' factor that makes it seem mental and an impossible task.

 

All that said, I can't see it ending well for him. If I'd never heard of either of them and looked at this on paper as just another prelim, I'd be picking Gall just based on the fact Punk's in his late 30s and hasn't fought before.

 

I still haven't watched any of the documentary series yet. I'll get on that tonight, I think.

[lambyUK]

I think it would be a humongous upset Wand.

 

Obviously I know you're just looking at records, but Gall has been doing mixed martial arts most of his life. He's an athlete too having competed in several sports growing up.

 

On top of that he's a brown belt under a legit trainer. Whilst also training with other pros like Jim Miller and has youth on his side.

 

What Punk is almost doing is almost like you or I getting into the cage after deciding to train for 18 months, albeit he's had top class trainers.

 

I think it would be a phenomenal achievement if he wins and a really would love to see him do it.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

I'm be pretty stunned if Punk won. I'm stunned he's allowed to fight to be honest. The guys head must be a mess. He's fractured his skull, broke his eardrum, had a million concussions and he was physically broken when he left WWE. Good luck to him, but he's like Ken Shamrock. Everything on him hurts. That's why it amazed me so much when UFC signed him. You wouldnt think they'd have touched the guy with his injury list.

[JakeRobertsParoleOfficer]

 

The More i think about it the more I have to respect his guts.

 

This isn't Dan Severn who was a legitimate Olympic level wrestler, genuine badass and 250lb'er with major strength entering MMA at 36.

 

This is a 37 year old, no fight experience with a catalogue of injuries and no offence but skinny as.

 

The guys entering the worlds most dangerous sport where he could get seriouly hurt (Cyborg recently suffered a fractured skull) and a major tooling on PPV.

 

Gutsy mofo!

[herbie747]

Punk open workout.

 

[wandshogun09]

Don't get me wrong, I'd be surprised if Punk won but I don't see it as the earth shattering upset most are claiming it would be. Just because Gall is a rookie himself. One with pretty much every advantage going in, yeah, but a rookie all the same. It wouldn't shock me as much as Bisping knocking Rockhold out in the first round, for example.

 

Regardless, it doesn't matter really. It'd be a shock, not disputing that.

[PowerButchi]

Put him in with Bobby Ologun if he wins.

[jimufctna24]

What about Jose Canseco? 

 

I don't think Punk is cut out for this game - and once Gall starts to unload - he will cover up before the ref steps in. From what I've read, Gall is very aggressive, so he's likely to overwhelm Punk sooner rather than later. With this in mind, I'm predicting that the fight will end mid way though the first round. 

 

 

It wouldn't shock me as much as Bisping knocking Rockhold out in the first round, for example.

I wrote off Bisping's chances before that fight, but I would contend that Punk winning would be the bigger upset. Bisping had just beaten a weathered, but still capable Anderson Silva. It was a tall ask for Bisping to beat Rockhold, but you could possibly see him being competitive for spells. The knockout was a real shock, but it came from some who we knew was capable.

 

There's little to suggest that Punk is capable at all. It doesn't help that this fight is at Welterweight. If Punk was a bigger lad, he wouldn't be so far behind those in his weightclass. Heavyweight MMA has a much lower talent ceiling. There's a reason why Batista made his MMA debut as a relative novice, and beat a seasoned journeyman. Rookies have a harder time in the lower weight classes. You have to have all your bases covered.

[lambyUK]

Gall really is proving himself to be a top class twat.

 

There's too many instances now to list but he's coming across as a complete smug cunt.

 

On top of that embedded has done it's job where it's making me potentially want to route for Miocic.

 

I think I still want Overeem to win as I like my heavyweight champions to look like bad motherfuckers, but Miocic has really come over well in embedded whilst Overeem is coming across Mickey Gall levels of twatness.

[WeeAl]

I second what Lamby has said. I want Punk and Miocic to win now based on how well they are coming accross compared to the prats that their opponents appear to be. As well as that I'd like Werdum to win but if he pulls that stupid face again then that could change quite drastically even though I'm no fan of Brown.

 

Business wise I can't see this show doing well though. Punk's doc has tanked in the ratings and he hasn't tried to create a rivalry between himself and Gall, though to be fair to him it would be very hard to trash talk with such little experience.

[lambyUK]

I second what Lamby has said. I want Punk and Miocic to win now based on how well they are coming accross compared to the prats that their opponents appear to be. As well as that I'd like Werdum to win but if he pulls that stupid face again then that could change quite drastically even though I'm no fan of Brown.

 

Business wise I can't see this show doing well though. Punk's doc has tanked in the ratings and he hasn't tried to create a rivalry between himself and Gall, though to be fair to him it would be very hard to trash talk with such little experience.

 

I wouldn't really worry about ratings of his documentary. With the style of it, and considering that the channel it was on doesn't particularly pull in great numbers anyway, it really wasn't going to gain huge numbers.

 

It's the PPV numbers that matter in the end. A Miocic/Overeem PPV would typically pull in a low number, somewhere along the lines of 300k. If Punk can increase that figure by 100-200k buys, then his price tag will be worth every penny. 

 

The trash talk is a good point though. When he was signed, they probably hoped with his skills on the mic he would be playing up to the cameras. 

 

However, you could say his experience in front of the cameras has shown with how relaxed and comfortable he's been in interviews and with his documentary series.