Josh Barnett Wishes CM Punk The Best In UFC Career

Since the UFC signed CM Punk, there has been a lot of talk about whether or not the UFC was cheapening its brand by signing a prospect with zero professional, or amateur MMA experience.

While there is no timetable for when CM Punk will make his UFC debut, he has been training at Roufusport gym in Milwaukee Wisconsin alongside Anthony Pettis, Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and other elite level fighters.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Josh Barnett explains the business side of the decision, and wishes Punk the best in his UFC future.

He spoke to MMAFighting:

“At the end of the day, one has to take into account that if we don’t have people’s butts in the seats, you don’t have people watching the events, you don’t have anything. This isn’t the kind of thing where we’ve got city money and we’ve got tax exemptions on it, we don’t have any of that kind of stuff. This isn’t that kind of a business. This is far more akin to the business of professional wrestling in terms of the models of how you make money. It’s somewhat similar to boxing, not entirely, but some crossover in the way they make their money.”

“I’m sure they’re doing a great job with him up at Roufusport, and I’m sure he’s training very hard. I know he trained very hard to become the wrestler he is. So he’s probably putting that effort right into his fight training. I really hope for the best for him.”