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It has been a long 21 months since former WWE superstar CM Punk announced his intention to fight in the UFC.After setting aside nearly a full year to perfect his craft, injuries twice forced Punk to delay his first bout inside the Octagon. Saturday marks go time for the 37-year-old, whose real name is Phil Brooks, in his debut against welterweight Mickey Gall (2-0) at UFC 203 in Cleveland.From the very first day his signing with the UFC was announced, Punk has had a great attitude regarding what he has gotten himself into, saying, I felt like it was now or never. I have a limited window most fighters dont have. Im either here to win or get my ass kicked.Along the way, as reports began to trickle out from Roufusport in Milwaukee, where he trains, the prevailing theory was that the latter of the two options Punk presented was most likely to happen. Las Vegas oddsmakers agreed, installing Punk as a heavy underdog.Whether it proves to be sideshow or the beginning of a second career, Punk has retained the respect of many for taking such an unnecessary risk, leaving behind millions of dollars by walking away from his pro wrestling prime. That respect has trickled down to his peers in the world of sports entertainment.Paul Heyman, who served as Punks on-screen manager in WWE from 2012 until Punk abruptly walked away from the company in January 2014, has no doubt regarding the intentions of the five-time WWE world champion.Any conversation that I had with CM Punk dating back, even when he was still in WWE and was dreaming of getting involved in mixed martial arts, is that he was doing a switchover of careers from becoming a sports entertainer to becoming a full-time, career-oriented mixed martial artist, Heyman told ESPN.com in June.With Punk currently being sued by a WWE doctor for defamation, it has been difficult for current superstars to speak publicly regarding Punks UFC debut. But?Seth Rollins, during an August visit to ESPN headquarters in Bristol,?Connecticut, admitted that hes excited to watch the fight.Rollins also cited Punk as a very influential wrestler who set the stage for WWEs current new era of superstars.Hes a guy who led the charge for a long time, Rollins said. Hes one of the first indie guys in a long, long time to really shake [up] the main roster in WWE and he paved the way for?Daniel Bryan, for myself,?Dean Ambrose,?Cesaro,?and those guys.Say what you will about his attitude and his relationship with the company right now, but I wish him the best and I hope that he is successful -- win, lose or draw.Ryback, who parted ways with WWE on his own terms in August, took offense in recent years to comments made by Punk that he was reckless to work with in the ring, which escalated a war of words between them. But Ryback, whose real name is Ryan Reeves, said it has no influence on him wanting to see Punk do well in the UFC.From a basic human being standpoint, he is showing courage doing something the majority of people on this planet will never do and that is step in a cage and fight in front of millions of people, Reeves told ESPN.com. I respect he wants to test himself and has the courage to do so. For that reason alone, while I dont condone him saying the things he said about me, I want to him do well. Any man can beat another man on any given night, so I just hope he achieves what he is looking for in this and I will leave it at that.Many pro wrestlers have tried their hand at MMA over the years -- and vice versa, to varying degrees of success -- creating a natural crossover between the worlds of scripted fighting and the real thing. No one has been able to make the transition as prominently, and with as much success, as former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.The comparisons between Lesnar and Punk were inevitable, despite the fact that Punk enters MMA as a complete novice, one month shy of his 38th birthday. Lesnar, on the other hand, had a legitimate background as an NCAA Division I champion in wrestling, not to mention that hes simply a freak athlete with natural size and speed advantages over most opponents.Punk told ESPN Radio in June that Lesnar was excited for him in the beginning, offering his help.He said, Bug me any time you want, Ill answer all the stupid questions you got, Punk said. And then he gave me some advice. Brocks a nice guy when he wants to be.But Lesnar, during a visit to Bristol in June to promote his one-off return at UFC 200, downplayed the idea that his ability to float between MMA and WWE was opening doors for others, Punk included.There will never be another Brock Lesnar, he said. You can make all the correlations you want to the people you just stated but none of them have ever main-evented and sold pay-per-views and put asses in the seats like Brock Lesnar. There is nobody.When it comes to making the adjustment between the two platforms and quickly finding a comfort level, current UFC heavyweight Josh Barnett believes Punk will be just fine. A former pro wrestler himself in Japan, Barnett currently joins WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross as the voice of New Japan Pro Wrestling on AXS TV.I think he has been in the environment long enough and he understands the difference between shooting and working, as we say in the business, Barnett told ESPN.com in January. The biggest thing for Phil is dont hold back, dont doubt, dont hesitate. Go out there and live your dreams. Youre in the UFC, youre here to be an MMA fighter. You put the time in, just go forward. Dont even bother looking behind you and just see what happens.Despite the UFC heavyweight championship being contested in the main event at UFC 203, as Stipe Miocic makes his first defense against Alistair Overeem, a great deal of the buzz entering Saturday has centered around Punk.The question lingers -- how much does it matter whether Punk is competitive, let alone victorious, in terms of justifying his placement on the card as more than just a curiosity to add PPV buys? WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall believes the UFC has promoted Punks appearance correctly by allowing his smirky personality to show while not misrepresenting what he brings to the table.I think people tune in to watch Brock win and I think they are going to tune in to watch Punk lose, Hall told ESPN.com. I think they employed that strategy in their marketing so if he does anything but get creamed I think he comes out OK. They are not building him up as a big hype or anything.They are taking the strategy like lets wait and see. They even showed him training in the cage and all the others guys were kind of standing around yelling at him because it is kind of like, Lets see what you got.After a long buildup to get here, Punk will finally get that chance, for better or for worse, on Saturday.Stitched Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Custom Texas Rangers Nike Jerseys .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/?tag=custom-san-francisco-giants-nike-jerseys . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Custom Los Angeles Dodgers Nike Jerseys . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Custom Arizona Diamondbacks Nike Jerseys . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors.Here are 20 things to know about the 142nd British Open, which gets underway this week at Muirfield. The first round goes live to air on TSN and TSN Mobile TV on Thursday at 4am et/1am pt. Also, TSN.ca will feature live streaming from select holes at Muirfield during the tournament. - Muirfield hosts the Open Championship for the first time since 2002, when Ernie Els won a four-way playoff to claim his first Claret Jug. Els is back to defend his 2012 Open Championship title, and could become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2000 and 2005 (St. Andrews) to win in consecutive appearances at a particular Open Championship venue. - Muirfield hosts the Open Championship for the 16th time. Among venues currently in the Open Championship rota, only St. Andrews has hosted more often. - Muirfield will play 158 yards longer than it did in 2002, when Ernie Els won a four-way playoff. - A total of 156 players will compete at Muirfield with the leading 70, and those tied for 70th place after two rounds, qualifying for the final 36 holes. - In the case of a tie after 72 holes, a 4–hole playoff will commence on Sunday afternoon: 1st hole, 16th hole, 17th hole, 18th hole. The player with the lowest total score on those four holes will be the winner. If theres still a tie after that, it is sudden death on the 18th hole until a winner emerges. There have been eight four-hole aggregate playoffs in Open Championship history, the first of which occurred in 1989. The last 4-hole playoff was in 2009, when Stewart Cink defeated Tom Watson at Turnberry. - Ernie Els returns to defend his Open Championship at Muirfield, where he won the last time the Open was contested here. Hes the first player since Greg Norman at Turnberry in 1994 to attempt a title defense while also being the last winner at a particular venue. Over the last 100 years, no player has successfully defended his title in this situation. The time it happened was James Braid at Muirfield in 1906. - The last eight champions at Muirfield all went on to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. The group also had five straight winners in their 30s. The last winner not in his 30s was Jack Nicklaus, who was 26 when he won at Muirfield in 1966. The average age of the last eight Muirfield champs is just over 31-years-old. Sir Henry Cotton was the old champ, 41 in 1948, and Gary Player was the youngest, 23 in 1959. The last eight winners at Muirfield in order were Ernie Els, Sir Nick Faldo, Faldo again, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Nicklaus, Player and Cotton. - The last 19 majors contested (beginning with the 2008 PGA Championship) have produced 18 different winners. Rory McIlroy (2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship) is the only player to win multiple major titles during this span. - The last 19 majors have gone to 18 different players, with Rory McIlroy (2011 UU.ddddddddddddS. Open, 2012 PGA Championship) the only repeat winner during the span. 14 of the last 17 winners were first-time major winners. - Despite all the first-time winners, its been the top players in the world getting it done lately. Five of the last six major winners have come from within the top 16 in the Official World Golf Ranking. - 20 major championships have come and gone since Tiger Woods last victory, at the 2008 U.S. Open. Thats twice as long as the next longest drought since Woods played his first full season as a professional in 1997. - After a run of three straight American major winners, the rest of the world is back on top in the majors – international players have won each of the last four majors, beginning with Ernie Els win at the Open Championship last year. Since Tiger Woods win at Royal Liverpool in 2006, there has been just one American winner (Stewart Cink, 2009) at the Open Championship. - Since winning the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, 20 majors have been played without a Tiger Woods victory, although he has competed in just 16 of them. - Its been well documented that Phil Mickelson has come close on many occasions, but unable to win the U.S. Open (six runner-up finishes). Not so much over in the United Kingdom, where he has just two top-10 finishes (best was T-2nd in 2011) in 19 career appearances. - Of the last nine winners at the Open Championship (since 2004), six have been 35 or older. Thats the most of any major during that span. - In 2012, no amateur made the 36-hole cut at the Open Championship, so the Silver Medal was not awarded for the first time since 2003. Tom Lewis (+9) won in 2011. - The Claret Jug, or to use its proper name, The Golf Champion Trophy, is presented to each years winner of The Open Championship. Yet it is not the original prize. When the Championship began at Prestwick in 1860, the winner was presented with the Challenge Belt, made of rich morocco leather, embellished with a silver buckle and emblems. - Now that Augusta National has added two women as members, the debates shifts across the Atlantic Ocean. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club has no female members, and Muirfield is one of three courses on the British Open rotation that are all-male clubs. The others are Royal St. Georges and Royal Troon. - Nick Faldo returns to play his last British Open at Muirfield, where he won two of his three Claret Jugs. Faldo won his first major in the 1987 British Open by making 18 pars in the final round. He won at Muirfield in 1992 by blowing a four-shot lead at the turn and finishing birdie-par for a one-shot victory. - The British Open is held at the home course of the "Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers," believed to be the oldest golf organization and the one responsible for creating 13 "Rules of Golf" for a competition in 1744. ' ' '