Any wrestling or UFC fans who are clamoring to see CM Punk make his debut in the Octagon may have to wait longer than expected.
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Punk is continuing his training out of Roufusport in Milwaukee, but he hinted his first fight in UFC -- which was expected to be late this year -- may be pushed back to 2016.
The former WWE Superstar even went as far as to say he wouldn't be upset if his first fight was pushed back to next year.
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"I'm also looking at the big picture," Punk said on The Anik and Florian Podcast, according to FoxSports. "This isn't a one and done thing for me. I'm not looking to do this just once. Win, lose or draw, this is something I'm training for. I feel like it'd be a super waste of time if I was just training for one fight rather than making a career out of this. Getting beaten up at the gym every day wouldn't be worth it if I wasn't looking big picture."
Punk said he has plans to continue his UFC career and extend it beyond one fight.
"I'm not saying I'm going to make a title run or anything. [But] I am looking to maximize my time here. If I wind up fighting in 2016, I'm not going to be upset about it."
Punk walked out of the WWE in January 2014 and was officially given his termination papers last June. In December, he announced that he signed with UFC and his first fight has always been tentatively scheduled for late 2015.
It appears as though that will be pushed back as the former WWE Champion continues to work on his transition from the squared circle to the Octagon.
"I'm obviously trying to cram a ton of knowledge into a short amount of time," he said. "People ask me every day when I'm fighting and the answer is always, 'I don't know yet.' We haven't even talked about it. The idea was to get as prepared as I possibly can. I'm learning a lot every day. I hear people saying training for a fight is harder than the actual fight. If that's true, then once I step in the Octagon, I will have no problem whatsoever. ... I know Duke has told me, and I think he's been public with it, that he would like me for a full 12 months before he'd sign off on me fighting."
Lastly, Punk said he knows a lot of fans are impatient in waiting for his first fight, but he said it's a long process in getting acclimated to his new venture.
"I think a lot of people are antsy," he said. "There's people on Twitter saying, 'Oh, you're never gonna fight.' This was just announced in what, November, December? I've been training full time for like six months. As bad as I have the itch to get in there, I want to be as prepared as possible. I wouldn't be upset if it got pushed to 2016."
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