Phil Brooks, or ‘CM Punk,’ will bring wrestling swagger into UFC 203

When Phil Brooks does it Saturday, it will be the first time the man meeting him at the end of that walk will be there to try to beat him up for real.

Brooks will make his professional mixed martial arts debut on the main card of UFC 203 in Cleveland against welterweight Mickey Gall. Brooks has been granted such an opportunity in large part because he was one of the biggest stars of professional wrestling juggernaut WWE over the past decade, performing under the pseudonym he will still utilize, and undoubtedly will bring many new eyes to the UFC.

Fighting is something Brooks says he always wanted to do, and now the 37-year-old will get the chance.

“This was going to happen regardless of when and where,” he said. “Maybe I started late, but I really kind of think that’s somebody else’s opinion.

”If MMA was around in the form that it’s (currently) in when I was 14 or 15, I definitely think I would’ve taken a different path, and there’s a lot of guys in the pro wrestling industry that say that. I ultimately didn’t want to be one of those guys that just talk about it. I wanted to do it.”

The move was triggered when Brooks had a well-publicized falling out with WWE president Vince McMahon in 2014. He signed with the UFC that year and has spent more than 18 months intensely preparing for his debut under the tutelage of noted trainer Duke Roufus.

Brooks admits there will be at least some sense of satisfaction just stepping into the cage, but his journey won’t be complete.

“I’m doing something that a lot of people thought that I couldn’t do,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I don’t want to walk in there and lose. I want to show out.

“I think success is defined by the individual. I’ve had a successful camp, and I’ve had bumps in the road. To me, fighting in the octagon is a success. I think walking in there is success. I get to win two or three times that night. I win when I walk in there. I win when I win, and I win when I get to eat a pizza afterward.”

It wasn’t always certain he would make it this far. Not only did Brooks have ground to make up on MMA athletes who have been training for years and need time to recover from various injuries, he also had to get licensed to compete by the Ohio athletic commission.

The administrative approval raised eyebrows, particularly when the commission’s executive director cited the experience of Brooks in the WWE as one of the reasons the application was granted without extra scrutiny. While Brock Lesnar had made a similar transition and became UFC champion, he was a former NCAA champion wrestler.

Brooks chalked it up as much ado about nothing.

“I don’t know anything about it, and I don’t really care,” he said. “It’s out of my hands. I don’t know why people care. If you’re not me or the guy fighting me, why the hell are you so invested? Are we tarnishing the sport where people try to break each other’s faces? They’re hack journalists who are trying to stir up (expletive) for no reason.”

Gall, 24, is not exactly a veteran of the sport, but does have an amateur background and two professional fights. While the buildup to the fight has lacked the kind of over-the-top bluster that might be expected with a showman as talented as Brooks was on the microphone in the WWE, Gall did stoke the fire a bit with his analysis of Brooks’ lack of athleticism in a training video he had viewed.

Brooks took exception.

“I’ve always been accused of not being athletic my entire life,” he said. “I guess because I didn’t play professional sports I’m not an athlete and people will always look down on pro wrestling, but it’s a mother (expletive) and you’ve got to be a tough son of a (expletive) to do it.”

The grind of that world wore on Brooks. The exhaustive travel schedule and nagging injuries that have long plagued pro wrestlers weren’t worth it anymore, particularly after Brooks lost his passion.

This experience has rejuvenated him.

“I’m cool as a cucumber,” he said. “I’m sure I’ll have prefight butterflies, but I’m actually looking forward to feeling that again. There was a long time that before I’d walk through a curtain, I would just sit there and be like, ‘Nope, they’re not coming. They’re gone.’ They were gone for a long time.

“Now, they’re back.”

Brooks insists he’s not planning on being a one-and-done fighter, but much will be determined by how he performs. Regardless, he hopes his experience can serve as an inspiration.

“Do what you want in life,” he said of his message. “Find something you love to do and do it for a living. Don’t let people tell you you can’t do something. Life’s too (expletive) short to not enjoy it, to not have fun every day, to not do what it is that you want.”

Brooks wants to fight. He’ll find out whether it’s fun shortly after he finishes that walk to the cage.

The pay-per-view main card begins at 7 p.m., with four fights from the preliminary card airing live on Fox Sports 1 at 5.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj