CM Punk Will Finally, Officially Make His MMA Debut At UFC 203

It’s been more than 18 months since CM Punk officially announced his signing with the UFC and now, finally, it appears he has a debut set. In the wee hours of the morning on Thursday, UFC announced Punk will make his octagon debut at UFC 203 on September 10 in Cleveland, Ohio. This confirms the earlier rumor that the fight would be moved back from UFC 202, which is taking place the day before WWE’s massive SummerSlam debut.

The former WWE Champion will face long-rumored and officially confirmed opponent Mickey Gall. Gall is 2-0, specializes in Jiu-jitsu and publicly pined for the fight back in February at UFC Fight Night 82, saying ““I want to be fed, I’m hungry! Feed me CM Punk please!”

For Punk (real name Phil Brooks), the fight marks the end of a long journey to the Octagon. He suffered multiple delays due to health issues, including a back surgery. It’s an odd twist of fate that Brock Lesner will be making his return to the UFC a few months before Brooks makes his debut, but at least the promotion will finally be getting some return on their initial investment back in 2014.

UFC 203 will be headlined by new UFC Heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic in his first defense of the title against Alistair Overeem.