CM Punk Talks Wrestling and MMA, Brock Lesnar’s Failed UFC 200 Drug Tests, More

CM Punk recently sat down with Sports Illustrated to promote this Saturday’s UFC 203 and his professional fighting debut. The full interview is at this link and below are highlights:

Being finished with WWE but open to the idea of wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling:

“A long time ago I stopped saying ‘never,’ but that’s a loaded question. I don’t know the answer. No matter what I say, it’s going to take on a life of its own.”

“When I started wrestling, I never wanted to go to WWE. It was the Japanese life for me. I romanticized guys, like [Eddie] Guerrero, [Chris] Benoit, [Chris] Jericho, who went over there, and it just sounded like such an awesome life. You’d go over there for two, three, four weeks, and you come back and nobody knows who the f— you are. I could go get ice cream with my sisters without being harassed, and that was always my style.”

Wrestling vs. MMA:

“If I come in here on a day and I’m not feeling it, and if I wasn’t in camp, I would look at everybody and say, ‘You know what guys? Not today,’” said Punk. “I’d go home and rest, but you can’t do that in wrestling. You get off the plane, load up on coffee—or whatever stimulants (when the reporter mentioned to the colorfully tattooed Punk that his stimulant of choice is Pepsi Cola, he replied, “Some people like coke, if you know what I mean”), and it’s just go, go, go, go, go, go.

“It’s a lifestyle you’ve got to do when you’re younger. I got too f—— old for it. I was sick of it. I met my wife, and it’s not a life conducive of happiness, at least in my opinion. I wasn’t happy, now I’m happy. I can come in here and I can still feel like s—, and I can still get something done and learn something, then sleep in my own bed every day. Comparing the two are apples to oranges. You can find parallels and comparisons, but they’re two different animals.”

If any current wrestlers remind him of himself, helping WWE stars:

“Everybody is their own self. I think there’s maybe hints of me here and there, and whether that’s they’re trying to emulate me, or they’re just good and maybe I was good too, I don’t know, but I definitely don’t take credit for anyone’s hard work.

“I was the guy that championed all the guys in developmental. Whether people there want to admit it or not, I helped a lot of guys A, get hired, and B, get called up. It was because I knew they were good, so it wasn’t just because of what I said that got them to where they are. It was them, but I was one of the first guys to shed a light on that and say, ‘F— it, these are the guys that are good.’ When I was where these guys are, no one would do that for me. I really felt like I needed to be different from a lot of the top guys that were around when I got called up.”

Brock Lesnar’s UFC 200 failed drug tests:

“I think it sucks. I get tested by USADA all the time, and I’m the drug-free kid. It’s like when you’re driving on the highway and the cop is behind you – ‘Well, I wasn’t speeding, and my taillight isn’t out, but let me slow down.’ The whole thing bums me out. Brock came back, he fought an impressive fight and won, and then he failed a test. It bums me out when anybody fails a test.”

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