The mixed martial arts debut of Phil Brooks, aka CM Punk, came and went in a matter of 2:14 at UFC 203 earlier this month -- and the result was not particularly pretty.
Punk, 37, was credited with just one significant strike attempt: a right cross that badly missed. He was immediately taken down by 24-year-old Mickey Gall (3-0) and submitted.
It was a disappointing (although not entirely unexpected) outcome. A retired WWE star, Punk signed with the UFC despite zero MMA experience and began training in January 2015.
Punk's teammate at Milwaukee's Roufusport and UFC lightweight Erik Koch defended Punk's performance on ESPN's 5 Rounds Podcast and said he believes Punk will fight again.
"To the people who say they didn't really see anything spectacular out of 18 months of training, that 18 months is not what you think it is," Koch said. "Really, in this time frame, it's nothing. I started training combat sports when I was four years old and I've never really stopped.
"It takes a lot of time. And Punk being older, going in and training for 18 months -- you're going to get better and he's going to get better, but he's going up against a kid who's been training since he was 14. Odds are stacked up against him. I wouldn't look at is as, 'Punk looked bad.' He went up against a very good opponent."
Punk, who lives in Chicago, indirectly suggested he intended to fight a second time during a postfight news conference. He did not know whether that fight would occur in the UFC.
The UFC 203 pay-per-view is on track to be one of the year's top sellers, according to an early report by MMAFighting.com's Dave Meltzer, thanks in large part to the former WWE star.
Punk's deal is for multiple fights, but UFC president Dana White admitted he wasn't sure if Punk would appear in the Octagon again, following his lopsided debut.
Koch said he spoke with Punk the day after the Sept. 10 fight and is pretty certain he'll fight again in some capacity.
"Lots of fighters, when they lose, they say the same thing -- 'back to the drawing board,'" Koch said. "Punk got beat quick. There are a lot of people thinking, 'Oh man, he ain't doing that again.' I actually got the opposite when I talked to him. It was kind of like, 'I'm not going out like that,' and that's just awesome.
"He's got so many people hating, so many haters dogging on him, and he doesn't give a crap. He's gonna come back and do it again."
As far as Punk's decision to aggressively attack Gall from the opening bell, which Gall later said opened an easy path to the takedown, Koch confirmed that was the game plan and it played to Punk's strengths in the gym.
"Regardless if he's going with the top dogs -- me, [UFC featherweight] Anthony Pettis -- he's not afraid to engage," Koch said. "He's not afraid to get in there and go. Mickey, there's not a whole lot of tape on him. Mickey is kind of a guy who likes to get in his rhythm. He's a long, lankier dude who likes to find his range. We know he's really good on the ground.
"It was one of those things, we were being realistic. We know Punk's time frame, how long he's been training. The game plan was to get in his face and make it a hockey fight, an ugly fight. Take him out of his comfort zone. Along with that, Punk made a couple mistakes, but you can't take anything away from Mickey."