CM Punk To Escort Chael Sonnen To Octagon Prior To Fox Fight

[No More Sorrow]

The "best in the world" will team up with the "undefeated and undisputed UFC middleweight champion" on Jan. 28 at the United Center in Chicago.

World Wrestling Entertainment champion CM Punk will escort Chael Sonnen to the cage prior to Sonnen's fight against Mark Munoz live on FOX, according to sources close to Sonnen's camp. When reached for a comment, both Sonnen and Punk, a proud native of Chicago, as well as a long-time MMA fan, would not confirm the story, which was first reported by MMA.tv poster FrontRowBrian Tuesday night.

According to the same sources, Punk will not corner Sonnen during the fight. He will simply walk Sonnen to the cage, much like former WWE champion Batista did with Manny Pacquaio prior to "Pac Man's" May 2009 bout against Ricky Hatton.

Punk was recently a guest on The MMA Hour, talking about the relationship between MMA and pro wrestling.

 

[The Cork]

Awesome.

Hope he gets Sonnen to guest host a Raw.

 

[Andrew]

This should be an interesting watch

 

[Deuce]

That sounds pretty cool, I don't remember something like this happening before.

 

[Heisenberg]

This looks interesting and I'll give it a watch, hopefully there's a stream out on the internet.

Good to see a lot of the WWE superstars and legends have a good relationship with the MMA community.

 

[Troy]

Will be a nice thing to look out for on the broadcast.

Interesting that he will be doing this since the Royal Rumble is the next day so he will attend the event and then have to fly out right after to ensure he is there early. Wonder if Vince is happy about this arrangement.

 

[No More Sorrow]

I was curious about Vince's take on the whole thing as well, as it's not something WWE and UFC put together Punk and Sonnen came up with the idea.

 

[Troy]

If it was the week before a PPV I don't think that he would care since WWE stars are always in the crowd at UFC events. But the day before the PPV pushes things a little bit because they need to ensure he makes it to the PPV.

 

[Heisenberg]

More Details Behind CM Punk Appearing on UFC TV
We previously reported that WWE Champion CM Punk will be appearing at the 1/28 UFC event on FOX 2, escorting Chael Sonnen to the octagon for his fight.

PWInsider.com is now reporting that this was not a deal made between WWE and UFC, but rather Punk asked for the night off from WWE so that he could appear at the event, which takes place in his hometown of Chicago.

Something extra to add to the thread, I guess?

 

[Slim]

He's walking with Sonnen to the cage. That's it. Maybe a ratings boost a lil for people looking to see Punk.

 

[Heisenberg]

CM Punk Won't Escort Chael Sonnen to Octagon at UFC on FOX
WWE champion CM Punk will not escort Chael Sonnen to the Octagon prior to Sonnen's fight against Mark Munoz on Jan. 28, after all.

Punk confirmed with MMAFighting.com that WWE chairman Vince McMahon decided against allowing him to walk out to the cage with Sonnen later this month. MMA reporter FrontRowBrian first reported the news Friday afternoon.

The Punk/Sonnen pairing created a major buzz in both the MMA and professional wrestling world when it was first reported, but most assumed it was UFC president Dana White who would be against the idea of a pro wrestler walking out to the cage with a top fighter on FOX, not McMahon.

UFC on FOX, headlined by Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis, returns on Jan. 28 from the United Center in Chicago. Sonnen vs. Munoz will serve as the co-main event.

Oh well.

 

[PHX]

Saw this coming. Out of Vince and Dana I figured Vince would be the one who was against it most.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Haha,Yeah i expected Vince to be against this, especially with the Royal Rumble the next night and what not.

 

[Troy]

No real surprise here. The timing was just wrong, with a PPV the next day Vince can't risk one of his top stars not getting to the arena on time. Hopefully in the future Punk can do it.

 

[Slim]

Guess Punk will be walking out with Sonnen on a bigger card... probably against Silva