CM Punk On UFC Ring Gear, Entrance Attire & More

Saturday evening CM Punk will make his long awaited UFC debut against Mickey Gall in Cleveland.

CM Punk (whose real name is Phil Brooks) rose to prominence during his time with promotions like Ring of Honor, ECW, and then to new heights with the WWE. Following his much-publicized split from his former employer, fans have been eager to find out just how well the athlete can transition to the octagon. Expectations have been high – and have only grown – since he first joined with UFC in 2014.

Despite the new surroundings, Punk has made a career out of surpassing expectations — ever since him a few friends started holding makeshift wrestling matches in the backyard — and over time he’s developed a few in-ring staples that fans have come to recognize, namely his theme music and entrance.

ComicBook.com recently had a chance to speak with Brooks about his opening line, which in entrances past has featured the phrase “It’s Clobberin’ Time!”, made famous by Thing from the Fantastic Four.

Whether or not he resurrects that entrance on Saturday is yet to be determined.

“I’m not sure,” Brooks said. “I probably will be fired up, so you never know what’s going to come out of my mouth.”

It isn’t just his time in the ring that had made the alter-ego of CM Punk a comic-fan-favorite. He also dabbled in the Marvel Universe, writing a series of books centering on the Destroyer known as Drax in Guardian’s of the Galaxy.

When asked what advice the metaphorically challenged character would offer for his big debut, Brooks acknowledged Drax isn’t really an advice kind of guy.

“He would probably give me some sort of large weapon to go into battle with,” Brooks said.

Since that is clearly illegal in the UFC, he will have to figure out a plan on his own.

The transition to UFC and the new surroundings could provide a great chance to rework his, and Brooks said he is definitely going with some much sleeker ring gear, which doesn’t look to feature any of the yellow or blue of his previous outfits. And with the 4-ounce gloves hiding his trademark “X” tape job, it could even be a chance to distance Brooks from the CM Punk side of this life.

“My getup or my outfit for my UFC fight, um, I’m wearing it,” he said in the video above. “It’s pretty awesome. It’s mostly black, ya know, I didn’t want to go with the blue, just keep it nice and neutral.”

One other major question surrounding what will happen before the fight even begins is how he will come down the aisle.

CM Punk has become synonymous with Cult of Personality by Living Colour; so, of course, the natural thought is that he will be bringing it back for his UFC debut.

Punk responded with an answer that would have delighted WWE legend Dusty Rhodes to no end, adhering to the superstar’s “where’s the money” promo philosophy.

“I get this question a lot, what’s my walk out song for Saturday at UFC 203, and my answer is always you got to buy the pay per view to find out.”

CM Punk takes on Mickey Gall on UFC 203 in Cleveland, Ohio at 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PT).