To this day, many are still wondering when CM Punk (Phil Brooks) would ever make his UFC debut after spending most of his career in the WWE.
The former WWE champion has been in deep training to prepare for that much awaited UFC debut despite Punk already being 36. But now it seems that Punk’s plans have suffered a major setback following a shoulder injury suffered during training.
Word about Punk’s injury comes from head coach Duke Roufus. According to him Punk tweaked his shoulder during a scramble in training and is now scheduled to see a physician on October 14. It remains to be seen if Punk will be given the clearance to return after that.
"He got caught in a scramble, so right now he's taking a little time off," Roufus told ESPN. "He was doing great before that. His progress has been good. He's got a great attitude and he's a hard worker. He got a place in Milwaukee where he lives all week when he's here training, so he's in it to win it.
With the injury, Punk has been forced to take some time off training which further delays any hope of seeing the high profile competitor in formally making his long-awaited UFC debut.
Punk signed a deal to compete in December but one glaring fact is that Punk lacks the necessary experience to size up against more seasoned fighters in the Octagon.
Right now there is no official timetable for his return though Roufus did clarify that seeing Punk back healthy is the primary concern before training resumes.
"Our biggest thing is we want him to 101 percent before [we resuming training]. We don't have a hard date for his fight to force the issue, so making sure he's completely healthy is possible."
Looking forward, Roufus is upbeat that Punk will eventually make his debut. It could be in three months or possibly ten. Apparently the real score would depend on how well he performs in training which has been paused at least for now.
With the time element set, what would be a realist date to see Punk debut in the UFC? As far as Roufus is concerned, Punk could be booked on July 9 for UFC 200 which is set to take place at a 20,000-seat arena, which is currently under construction on the Las Vegas Strip.
“The injury throws us back one month. We had a ballpark. We were looking at mid- to late-spring. Now, we'll just have to see how he comes back from the injury” says Roufus via Yahoo Sports.