Many people are interested in seeing CM Punk finally enter the Octagon -- including his former peers.
Aftter myriad setbacks and nearly two years of waiting, the former WWE Superstar will make his UFC debut this Saturday against Mickey Gall at UFC 203. The event will emanate live from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Punk left the WWE in January 2014 amid multiple frustrations and then signed with the UFC that December. Ever since he announced his deal with the MMA promotion, his eventual debut has been pushed back. His most recent setback was back surgery he underwent to repair injuries he suffered in WWE.
Now, with Punk set to enter the Octagon this Saturday, the world will finally know how he's going to fare.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins is certainly one of the Superstars who will be hoping Punk succeeds, even though the MMA fighter said he'll never return to WWE.
"He's a guy who led the charge for a long time," Rollins told ESPN. "He's one of the first indie guys in a long, long time to really shake [up] the main roster in WWE and he paved the way for Daniel Bryan, for myself, Dean Ambrose, Cesaro, and those guys. Say what you will about his attitude and his relationship with the company right now, but I wish him the best and I hope that he is successful -- win, lose or draw."
Punk, 37, will face a much younger, yet more experienced Gall, 24. Gall has been pursuing mixed martial arts for many years and is 2-0 in the UFC.
Much like Rollins, former WWE Superstar Ryback also supported Punk. Ryback has a sordid history with the "Best in the World" as Punk verbally berated "The Big Guy" on Colt Cabana's podcast last year.
Nevertheless, Ryback took the high road.
"From a basic human being standpoint, he is showing courage doing something the majority of people on this planet will never do and that is step in a cage and fight in front of millions of people," Ryback said. "I respect he wants to test himself and has the courage to do so. For that reason alone, while I don't condone him saying the things he said about me, I want to him do well. Any man can beat another man on any given night, so I just hope he achieves what he is looking for in this and I will leave it at that."
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