Emotional Phil ‘CM Punk’ Brooks not ready to quit after lopsided UFC loss

The “CM Punk” character Phil Brooks played when he was a professional wrestling superstar in the WWE often referred to himself as the “best in the world.”

Brooks as a mixed martial artist competing in a real sport was far more humble after he was manhandled by Mickey Gall on the main card of UFC 203 in Cleveland on Saturday night.

During an emotional news conference in the early morning hours Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena, Brooks reflected on the journey that brought him to the octagon for his mixed martial arts debut just two years after walking away from the WWE as one of the organization’s biggest stars.

“The process was magical,” Brooks said of the 18 months he spent training at Roufusport in Milwaukee to prepare for a debut that lasted just 2:14 before he was submitted. “I’m just supremely disappointed. I’m beating myself up more than I got beat up. But aside from the outcome, I wouldn’t change anything. Being out there under the lights was the most fun I ever had.”

Brooks was taken down within the first five seconds of the fight and Gall never allowed him to get back to his feet. Brooks valiantly fought off submission attempts while enduring a series of elbows and short punches, but finally succumbed to a rear-naked choke.

“I lost and it sucks and it was lopsided and it was upsetting,” he said. “But I know I’m better than that.”

He wouldn’t mind giving it another shot. All along he has insisted he was training not for one fight, but to be a fighter. He said he will be back in the gym as soon as he is cleared to resume training after he takes a vacation with his wife.

“I definitely want to keep going,” said Brooks, who will turn 38 next month. “I just fell off a bike. I’m not just going to leave it in the middle of the street. I’m going to get back on it and ride again.”

UFC president Dana White wasn’t ready to make a determination on whether Brooks would get another chance.

“We’ll see what happens with CM Punk and what he wants to do,” White said during the post-fight show on Fox Sports 1.

It was always going to be an uphill climb for Brooks, who really had no formal training in any of the disciplines that make up mixed martial arts when he decided he wanted to compete.

After he had left WWE, he discussed with White his desire to fight and a plan was born for Brooks to spend time training for his debut and for the UFC to find him an inexperienced opponent as an introduction to the sport.

Gall was just 2-0 entering Saturday’s matchup with Brooks, but looked like an experienced veteran in easily shutting him down.

While the victory in a fight with a significant amount of attention will be massive for his career, Gall knows he didn’t exactly defeat a championship contender on Saturday.

“I don’t want to be disparaging, but I was fighting an amateur,” he said. “I 100 percent need to prove myself still. I’m excited to get going. Now the real work and the real fights begin. I do feel a sense of accomplishment, sure. I enjoyed it and I enjoyed seeing the crowd and everything. But I don’t feel like I beat a great fighter.”

Brooks said after the loss he had originally planned to work his way up the ranks, but couldn’t pass up the chance to go straight to the big show.

“My initial venture was going to be at the lowest level,” he said. “This opportunity just got presented to me and I would have been a fool to say no.”

After competing against him for just over two minutes, Gall thinks Brooks will get another shot.

“I think he should take some time,” Gall said. “There’s still money to be made on him. He’s still a big superstar. I think he will have another UFC fight.

“A lot of people think he doesn’t belong. Privilege doesn’t rub people in a good way, but i think he’s earned that privilege by being obviously talented at something else. I think he should really focus in on training for a little bit, but come back and get a chance at retribution.”

While the fight didn’t go his way, it would be difficult to find a competitor on Saturday’s card who more thoroughly enjoyed their walk out to the cage than Brooks.

He beamed as he walked out to Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality,” his famed entrance music from his pro wrestling days.

He stopped several times to take in the moment before finally stepping in the cage.

“I don’t know if it’s ever going to happen again,” he said of soaking up the experience. “I fully believed in myself. I thought I was going to win. But even then, the scoreboard could’ve fallen on me. Who knows? I could die eating pizza tonight. I just try to enjoy life.

“The switch got flipped. I was happy. I didn’t really think about how the crowd would react, but they showed me love and it felt good. You can’t help but smile. I was happy. I felt good. I was ready to fight.”

Still, Brooks allowed himself a moment to take pride in what he had accomplished.

“People said I didn’t belong and I wouldn’t make it to the octagon,” he said. “I wasn’t going to make it back from back surgery, then I wasn’t going to make weight. There were doubters every step of the way.

“I’m just happy I did it.”

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