As one of the biggest fans of Phil “CM Punk” Brooks walking the earth today, I was ecstatic when it was announced over two years ago that he had signed with the UFC. Then he was dismantled at UFC 203 in just over two minutes.
“Hahahaha! We told you that was gonna’ happen” fans rejoiced. To that, my answer is, “Yeah, and?”
Punk even noted that things could possibly not end well when he signed by saying that he was either gonna’ “kick some a** or get his a** kicked.” Shout to the heavens you keyboard warriors, you got what you wanted. But for all of your complaining, the UFC’s plan worked–you still paid to see him get his a** kicked, didn’t you?
The above point is one that I made so much leading up to his MMA/UFC debut that it seems redundant to bring it up again, but on the other hand, it’s still necessary. As for his debut in the sport being in the top promotion, I’ll point you to the quote from the UFC 203 post-fight press conference below:
“My initial venture into this was gonna’ be at the lowest level. This opportunity just got presented to myself, I would’ve been a fool to say no…”
Any MMA fan reading this knows that if they were given the opportunity to fight in the UFC, win or lose (and for a $500,000 payday) they would take it. Quite frankly, if there is a response of “No”, that person is lying. As for his above-mentioned pay, what did you all expect him to get paid–only enough for a Happy Meal on his way home from Cleveland? Fans, UFC President Dana White, and Punk himself knew that he would bring in viewers regardless of the result. You had to see the pay coming.
CM PUNK SHOWS WHAT SPORT TRULY IS AT ITS CORE
Now before this piece becomes even more “LEAVE PUNK ALONE”-ish, let me just say that my biggest gripe goes beyond Punk or even MMA and concerns all of sports:
This is how all sports work– Teams or organization do something such as announce an event that they think you will want to see so that you become invested and either buy tickets or the Pay-Per-View, etc… and if you go to the event, it includes merchandise and any and all other trappings. Then, those teams or organizations do their best to ensure that you have a quality experience so that the cycle of you spending money on a non-essential product continues.
Your OPINION (yes, that includes media members such as myself who write because they enjoy it and might be lucky enough to get paid) gets left at the door as soon as YOUR money is in THEIR pockets.
So, why must sports fans complain all the time!? Sure, it might feel great to vent your frustration over CM Punk debuting in the UFC, but that complaining didn’t stop it from happening. Sometimes life just isn’t fair and that is why money-motivated things like this happen. YOU don’t run a team or organization and chances are that most of us won’t. Why complain about something you have no control over?
The only real control a fan has is in choosing how to spend their money. Once it is spent, control is gone and opinions mean nothing. You are a cog in a machine unless you choose not to be.
In this instance, the vast majority of fans got what they wanted with Punk losing. If you enjoyed it, great. That’s money well spent. If things didn’t go the way you hoped (had he won,) there would still be nothing you could do about it and you still spent your money. If you’re really that upset, move on from sports. Don’t watch.
The CM Punk fight did exactly what it was supposed to do.
