As CM Punk prepares to enter the Octagon, his mind certainly hasn't drifted to the squared circle.
The former WWE Champion walked out on Vince McMahon's company back in January 2014. That Thanksgiving, he revealed the many frustrations that led to his exit from WWE.
Punk signed with the UFC back in December 2014, but myriad setbacks -- most recently including back surgery -- have kept him from fulfilling his dream of making his debut.
This Saturday, however, the "Best in the World" will finally enter the cage for his debut fight. Punk is slated to battle Mickey Gall at UFC 203 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
The former WWE Superstar has gone on record as saying he'll never return to the WWE, and it seems he isn't softening on that stance anytime soon. Punk admitted he misses some people from the WWE, but he certainly doesn't want to entertain the thought of returning.
"There [are] individuals that you see on a daily basis that, one day, I just stopped seeing," Punk told The Wrestling Compadres Slamcast (via WrestlingInc) of his former peers. "There's a quote in the movie 'Stand By Me,' 'Friends go in and out of your life like the busboy at your local diner' and that's kind of life. Screws fall in and fall out and I've kept in touch with some genuine folks from there and there are some that, if I run into at an airport, I'd probably hug and say, 'Hey, how are you doing?' and catch up real quick. But, yeah, there [are] definitely people and situations, those are memories. Those are all good memories, but the thought of going back there is like the thought of going to summer school. It's like, you have nightmares about it."
Punk hasn't looked back since leaving the WWE and his wife, AJ Lee, retired from the company in early 2015 after her husband got embroiled in a lawsuit. Punk was sued by Dr. Chris Amann for defamation after he made derogatory comments about the physician on his former friend Colt Cabana's podcast.
With the WWE in the rearview mirror, Punk, 37, now turns his attention to Gall, who is more experienced in MMA even at age 24 and is 2-0 in the UFC.
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