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A year and a half after announcing he signed with UFC, CM Punk finally has an official debut date. Punk will face Welterweight newcomer Micky Gall at UFC 203, which takes place on Saturday, September 10th from Cleveland, Ohio at the Quicken Loans Arena.
The main event of UFC 203 will see hometown hero Stipe Miocic defends his UFC heavyweight title for the first time against Alistair Overeem. In the co-main event, Fabricio Werdum faces Ben Rothwell.
Punk officially announced the fight on the UFC Unfiltered podcast. “The instant I got cleared, I got on the horn with Dana (White) and we nailed everything out. I will be debuting September 10 in Cleveland,” Punk said. “I’m super-excited. I’m happy to have a date, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, I can probably say I’m healthy and strong again. It’s nice to be healthy.”
Punk has been training for his UFC debut since signing with the promotion back in December 2014. He underwent back surgery earlier this year to fix a herniated disc he’s attributed to his days in the ring.
“The worry of that definitely crept into my head,” Punk said on UFC Uniltered. “I tried to stay positive. The back surgery was a f—– bum-out. And then there’s the months of rehabs where I couldn’t do anything.” But, during periods where he could only ride a bike, Punk said, “I never thought that it was over. I never thought that I was never going to make it to a fight.”
As part of the buildup to the fight, FOX Sports 1 is expected to air a documentary series looking at Punk’s journey to the Octagon.
BREAKING: @CMPunk announces on #UFCUnfiltered he'll debut vs @MickeyGall at #UFC203!!!! ?? https://t.co/kQZBxHzDcK pic.twitter.com/3jDGUruLVO
— UFC (@ufc) June 23, 2016
