CM Punk: Former WWE Champion announces he has joined UFC and will fight in 2015

Former WWE wrestler CM Punk has announced that he has joined the UFC, and will have his first fight in the Octagon next year.

CM Punk, birth name Phil Brooks, left the WWE back in January. He has never fought in professional mixed martial arts before.
UFC president Dana White said that CM Punk intends to fight at middleweight (185 pounds), but would be open to drop down to 170 pounds.
CM Punk made the announcement at UFC 181 last night.
"This is my new career, 100 percent," CM Punk said in a statement. "I'm going to go full steam ahead, all systems go after today, and it's going to be fun."CM Punk is not the first WWE superstar to try his luck in the Octagon. Brock Lesnar, who has since returned to the WWE, went 5-3 over his MMA career. Batista and Bobby Lashley also had brief MMA careers post-WWE.
"He wanted to fight here," White told ESPN.com. "He wanted to give it a shot, so we gave him an opportunity. It's not like Brock Lesnar. We're not going to throw the kitchen sink at him. Lesnar had a wrestling background. [CM Punk] is going to fight a guy who is 1-0, 1-1, 2-1 -- something like that."
CM Punk added: "My professional wrestling days are over, it's awesome to be here. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time.
"I felt like it was now or never. I have a limited window most fighters don't have. I'm either here to win or get my ass kicked."