Morning Report: Frank Mir ‘pissed off’ that CM Punk is fighting at UFC 203.

When the UFC signed former WWE star CM Punk in December of 2014, most fans were left wondering why. Unlike his WWE compatriot Brock Lesnar, Punk had no previous martial arts experience, and at 36 years old, he was very late to be entering into MMA much less debuting at the highest level. Some questioned whether Punk would ever actually step into the cage for real or if this was just a promotional stunt.

But Punk was unfazed. He began training full-time at the well-respected Roufusport Gym in Milwaukee, Wis. For almost two years now, Punk has been preparing for his Octagon debut and it finally happens this Saturday against Mickey Gall. When he does make that walk, Punk will have the support of some of the most notable fighters in MMA, including former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis and current welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

Not everyone likes Punk though. The prospect of a celebrity making their MMA debut on the main card of a UFC event has rubbed many in MMA the wrong way, including former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Recently on his podcast Phone Booth Fighting, Mir let loose about why he dislikes the Punk situation.

“I’m gonna be honest, it pisses me off. I don’t like it. I’m trying to be impartial and not be a dick but the more we talk about this the more I’m getting angry at the situation because it’s bullsh*t. This is not a legitimate fight. This is not a legitimate UFC fight. We have these kind of fights in boxing … they have those celebrity matchups where it’s a name guy that shouldn’t be in there getting in there with somebody that has a novelty to it and people might turn it on for the novelty act behind it but you wouldn’t have it on the undercard of a Mayweather fight. They wouldn’t put those two together and the fact that we are putting that on there doesn’t sit well with me.

“We want to be in New York and we want to be legitimate and we want to be even with boxing and have that kind of credibility, and boxing wouldn’t do this. I mean, they do do this but they don’t put it on the same card with their championship fights.”

Mir had his own experience with facing an MMA neophyte when he took on Brock Lesnar at UFC 81. It was Lesnar’s UFC debut in his second-ever MMA fight; however, Lesnar was a former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion. Still, Mir submitted him with a kneebar in 90 seconds.

Unlike Lesnar though, Punk won’t be facing a seasoned MMA veteran and former champion. Instead he fights Mickey Gall, a 24-year-old fighter with a 2-0 record in professional MMA, chosen specifically to face Punk. Regardless, Mir still doesn’t like Punk’s chances on Saturday; not particularly because of Gall but because of the training footage of Punk that’s been shown.

“I hope that CM is just a mastermind at psychological warfare and that he’s purposefully putting this kind of footage out there to lull [Gall] down to make it to where [he] gets comfortable, to where [he thinks] maybe CM is not gonna be that good of a fighter. Watching him fight, I felt like I was down at the gym watching just normal guys that have no ambition to be fighters, just taking the class. I’ve seen some of the women taking the aerobic kickboxing class move better,” said Mir.

Mir’s comments have been echoed by many in the MMA community who have been unimpressed by the appearance of Punk’s abilities. The footage comes from a series put together to promote Punk’s journey, The Evolution of Punk. The series chronicles Punk’s journey from his first week of training up until now. As such, in the series there is a noticable progression in Punk’s skills, culminating in the final episode with Punk in a simulated amateur fight, submitting his opponent with a choke. Mir however, was unimpressed.

“[What I saw was] a very nice, cooperative training partner… The guy was being nice. The cameras were on him and he was being a good partner. I’m only calling what I’m seeing. If that guy really got choked by that, I’d be telling the guy, ‘hey buddy, maybe you’re not fit for fighting. You just got choked by a guy that threw no hooks in, ‘didn’t have it set right, didn’t have the proper pressure, had his head in the wrong area, and you were grimacing like you were stuck in a Marcelo Garcia rear-naked choke.’… Demian [Maia]’s not worried anytime soon, let me put it that way. Carlos was wishing that was the choke he had put on him. [Laughs],” said Mir.

Mir’s comments are certainly not an aberration among professional fighters. There are many competitors and fans alike who don’t think highly of Punk or the opportunity he’s been given. Mir doesn’t appear to have any personal animosity towards Punk and says he would “have taken him more seriously” had Punk pursued some amateur fights against equally skilled competitors instead of jumping immediately into the UFC. However, Mir does acknowledge one major benefit to Punk’s …

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