The following are the highlights of C.M. Punk’s appearance at the UFC 203 press conference following his loss to Mickey Gall on September 10, 2016.
-CM Punk was the first fighter to appear at the press conference. “Hello,” he said with a smile. Punk had a bandage on his right ear. “Always a tough crowd.” Punk was asked about how he feels about the process. He said it was “magical” and he wouldn’t change anything other than the outcome. He said it was the second best day of his life behind the day he married his wife.
-Punk said no one pressured Gall in the limited footage he saw of his fights. Punk said his plan was to move forward. “I was either going to come back with my shield or on it,” he said.
-Punk was asked if he would continue to fight at the UFC level or if he would do it at a lower level. Punk said his initial venture was going to be at the lowest level. “This opportunity got presented to myself and I would have been a fool to say no,” Punk said. He questioned whether he could be cut and said he hopes it doesn’t happen. “I’m a guy who fell off a bike,” he said. “I’m not going to shelve it and leave it in the middle of the street, I need to get back on and ride.”
-Punk was asked when he might fight again. He said it was a hard question to answer. He said he would love to jump back in there as quickly as he can, but he needs to go back to the drawing board. He laughed as he said he looks like The Elephant Man. Punk said his wife has put up with a lot through the process. He said that instead of her cooking meals for him, he needs to cook for her.
-Punk said he needs to go back and work on his timing. “I’ve got no excuses for what happened,” he said. “Mickey was the better man.”
-Punk was asked about sticking with “Cult of Personality” as his theme. “It’s an awesome, awesome song,” he said.
-It was noted that Punk seemed to take a moment before he entered the cage. Punk said he didn’t know if it would ever happen again. He said he, his coaches, and his team believed in him. “I thought I was going to win,” Punk said. He said he still wanted to take a moment. He said it may sound crazy, but he’s still happy and he still loves it.
-Punk was asked about how his emotions were heading into the fight. “They were steady as a rock,” Punk said. He admitted there were “butterflies because I was about to throw hands” but said he wasn’t nervous.
-Punk was asked if he is proud of his showing. “There is probably an alternate reality where I win and I’m still disappointed in myself,” Punk said. “That’s just who I am. I’m just really, really hard on myself. I lost and it sucks, and it was lopsided and it’s upsetting, but I know I’m better than that.”
-Punk was asked what his wife said after the fight. He said they were going to make him cry. He got choked up and took a moment, then said she just told him that she was proud of him.
-Punk was asked if he got what he wanted out of this when he initially signed with UFC. “No, I didn’t win. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to win. I wanted to perform. It didn’t happen.”
-Punk was asked what his coaches said to him afterward. “Same thing, they said they were proud of me, and I just feel like I let them down,” he said.
-Punk noted his injured ear and said he has some stitches following the fight, so he will probably be forced to stay out of the gym. “I’d be back in there Monday if it were up to me,” he said.
-A reporter asked if Punk regrets not being able to show off more of what he learned. “No, because who would I have been demonstrating those skills for?” he said. Punk added that people who believed in him know what he’s good at.
-Punk was asked what was going through his mind. “The flip got switched, I was happy,” he said. “I didn’t really think how the crowd would react, but they showed me love and you can’t help but smile at that. It felt good. I felt, in a way, like I was back where I belong.”
-Punk was asked what he said to Gall after the fight. Punk recalled Gall stating in interviews that Gall doesn’t belong in UFC. Punk said he told him not to say that about himself and never to sell himself short.
-Punk said he had not spoken with Dana White yet. He said a couple of people from UFC told him to hold his head up and be proud of himself. “But it’s not like I fought a good fight,” he added.
-Punk said he was like a different person once he had back surgery. He said people can say he didn’t belong in UFC and others said he wouldn’t make it to the octagon, then said he wouldn’t after the surgery, and then said he wouldn’t make weight. “I’m happy I did it,” he said. “There’s a lot of emotion involved, sure.” Punk told the reporters that he appreciates them and thanked them very much.
Be the first to comment