UFC: Let me prepare CM Punk for his debut, says new world champion Robbie Lawler
Lawler also reflects on title win
Friday 12 December 2014 18:05, UK
CM Punk could be taught to be a UFC fighter by a world champion if he accepts Robbie Lawler’s "serious" offer.
It was a serious offer. CM Punk would bring a lot to the table – not just because of his name. But we could do a really good job with him
The former WWE Superstar shockingly signed up this week for an MMA fight in 2015 – but so far doesn’t have a training base to teach him the ropes.
Lawler, who took Johny Hendricks’ welterweight title last Sunday, tweeted an offer to invite Punk to his American Top Team gym and has now backed up those words.
“It was a serious offer,” Lawler told Sky Sports. “He’d bring a lot to the table – not just because of his name. But we could do a really good job with him.
“There’s a lot of high-level fighters in my training camp but we have up-and-comers, too. There’s many levels of ability and great coaching so it’s a place he could come to learn.
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“I’d really like to have my coaches get their hands on him. We have a lot of good trainers and different body styles in the gym which can all help him.
“If he’s working hard in training, who knows what he can do? He’s obviously a really good athlete.
“CM Punk is a big acquisition and will bring a lot of eyes to our sport.”
Incredible
Lawler reached the pinnacle of his sport by winning a decision in a rematch with Hendricks to take the world championship 12 years after his UFC debut and believes the ringside judges made the right call.
He said: “I felt pretty strongly that I was winning. He obviously did pretty well in the second and third rounds but I wasn’t taking any damage or taking any big shots. I felt like I was wearing him down. I pressured him and forced him to fight and when he tried to take me down he was carrying all of my weight. But even then I felt I was winning strategically because he was being worn out.
“In the fourth, he was going for takedowns but I was stopping him and landing decent blows. But I’m not arguing with fans who don’t think I won, you can’t make everybody happy.
“In the last round my energy levels went through the roof and my fighting spirit came out. I felt he was hurt and I wanted to get him out of there.
“The feeling when they put the belt on me was incredible. But it’s been a long road, it wasn’t just one night. This happened over the last few years – over my whole life, really. I did martial arts growing up. A lot of dedication and perseverance has paid off.”
