UFC
Duke Roufus encouraged by CM Punk's progress after controlled fight simulation, still not rushing first UFC fight
Mar 5, 2015 - 12:00:56 PM Duke Roufus encouraged by CM Punk's progress after controlled fight simulation, still not rushing first UFC fight

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

CM Punk's first UFC fight is still far off in the distance, but the team at Roufusport is trying to slowly build him up within their controlled environment to have him as prepared as he can be when he makes his debut.

Duke Roufus' recent Instagram post about Punk having his first real sparring session was actually a bit more than that, as he explained on Thursday in an interview with Brett Okamoto at ESPN.com that it was more like a live scrimmage. Roufus says they wanted to essentially simulate an amateur fight for him in a controlled environment.

"We created a crowd scenario," Roufus said, adding that around 100 people were in attendance for what was essentially a controlled amateur bout. "All our students got a chance to watch him and were cheering him on. [UFC lightweight champion] Anthony Pettis was in Punk's corner. There was a lot of hooting and hollering. We tried to make a little Thunderdome the best we could."

"He did pretty good against a guy who is 4-0. Did he win the match if we had scored it? No, he did not - but that's cool with him. He likes the struggle. There are certain people who enjoy going into the fire and becoming a phoenix. Most people like to avoid that fire."

Despite not coming out of the gate with what would have been considered a "win," Roufus said was encouraged by some of what he saw out of the former WWE star.

"I was surprised with his natural aggression in striking," Roufus said. "That's an unknown thing about striking; it's that sometimes you can teach someone all the tools of the trade, but if they don't have a trigger finger and the ability to throw under fire, it just doesn't matter. I was looking for instincts, and he didn't cave under pressure."

"I was happy with his fitness level. He didn't gas out and he didn't panic. I've seen people in there with more training than him who panicked and freaked out."

Roufus says they'll do another controlled bout like this for Punk in the next four to six weeks, but they're in no rush to get him into the Octagon.

"If it takes one year, six months or two years, whenever Punk gets in there, it's going to be at a high quality," Roufus said. "Pay-per-view worthy."

Penick's Analysis: This is a smart way to essentially get Punk some "amateur" fights under his belt without needing to have it come at set local events. He needs to get a feel for what a legitimate fight is going to be like, he needs to continue figure out where his weaknesses are, and what he most needs to improve before actually fighting in the UFC. It's fine if it takes longer, and if he shows improvement enough sooner, they can get him in there sooner. Regardless, it still seems like he's doing everything he can to make sure he's not embarrassing himself or the UFC when he does get into the Octagon.