Former professional wrestler Phil Brooks, a.k.a. CM Punk, has signed up to join the Ultimate Fighting Championship, saying it was the easiest decision he's ever made, the Bleacher Report noted.
Brooks said he was excited to try it out as a UFC fighter despite having zero experience at all in professional MMA bouts. His newbie status did not seem to deter other UFC fighters though, as the likes of Michael Bisping, Derek Brunson and Al Iaquinta have all expressed interest in competing against him.
UFC welcomed and announced Brooks' addition through their official twitter, posting a picture of Brooks and saying "See you in 2015." After that, news started spreading to other fighters.
British fighter Bisping tweeted about Brooks saying, "I see CMPunk wants to kick a**, well he can kiss my a**!"
American fighters Bruson and Iaquinta also tweeted their own, Brunson tweeting a simple "I want CMPunk next," something Iaquinta echoed on his tweet.
Another fighter excited for Brooks' addition is UFC Women's Champion Ronda Rousey, who tweeted with the hashtag #cantwait.
However, there are those who are not excited about the news, such as lightweight fighter Nate Diaz who tweeted a simple "Why?" in response to UFC's tweet. Ben Askren has also showed strong feelings about the new member, tweeting that they UFC is signing a "fake wrestler."
Dana White, the president of UFC, officially announced the news at the post-fight press conference of the UFC 181 and said that Brooks was looking to debut in the middleweight division in 2015, according to ESPN.
"He wanted to fight here," White said in a statement to ESPN. "He wanted to give it a shot, so we gave him an opportunity."
Brooks said that the deal had been in the works since November and that he had yet to pick a training camp, but is considering all options available before committing to one, according to Bleacher Report.
He said that time will tell if his decision to take up the UFC at 36 years old is a wise decision, but he is excited at being able to put 100 percent of himself into the challenge.
Brooks originally came from WWE before he decided to move on the UFC's Octagon, following the footsteps of former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar. When asked about being compared to Lesnar, Brooks simply said, "If someone is going to compare me to Brock Lesnar, I'll take that."
