– Bill Goldberg recently spoke with Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald. The full interview is available at this link. Goldberg commented on CM Punk signing with UFC:
“It’s thinking outside the box. There are the guys who have worked their asses off on the independents and mixed martial arts organizations and get to the UFC waiting for that next big opportunity. Then here comes a guy with a zero-and-zero record and suddenly he gets the spotlight. The analogy I can give is that it was like me when I got into the wrestling business. I didn’t ‘pay my dues’ to get into the wrestling business. That didn’t mean I wasn’t able to, with the certain amount of training put a lot of asses in seats with the help of everybody else. Is it an eyebrow raiser? No question. I made the statement before that if they are able to steal a quarter of the pay-per-views from WWE and have people buying the pay-per-views for the UFC, then I believe they won. I don’t think they are going to turn any traditionalist off in that they aren’t going to buy a pay-per-view with CM Punk on it because these traditionalists and a lot of the MMA community wants to see him fail. They are going to want to see that.”
“He is in a great training camp. From what I’ve read, CM Punk is like a sponge when it comes to training. So as long as he can digest what is thrown at him, he is in a great camp. Anthony Pettis is a superstar in mixed martial arts right now. I think [Duke] Roufus was an underachiever in the kick boxing world, and he worked his ass off to obtain the level he attained as a coach. I believe he can see himself a little bit in CM Punk and work slowly with him. Age is nothing but a number. I wouldn’t be going down to Miami and be willing to train with American Top Team if I didn’t feel I had the ability to get in a cage or the ring with anybody. I’m not about emasculating myself. I’m not about doing something to waste people’s time. The fact is I train regularly. I’m looking to get better. I’m 48 years old, 12 years his senior or however it is. If I can do it at my age and seriously consider getting in there with competitive guys, he can do it. I really do it for fun. I was supposed to train with Quinton [Rampage] Jackson. He got sick. King Mo was willing to hold pads for me at ATT. I learn the martial arts because no matter how old you are or how much you train, you don’t know it all. There is always room to grow. I’m a very competitive person. I truly believe if I didn’t do Muay Thai right now, then I would probably be in jail with my general ability to deal with the general public [humor]. For me, it’s fun and a challenge. I get hurt doing it all the time. Doesn’t make me want to stop, but makes me hungry. I have that competitive edge. I think Punk has that to. This is by no means a financial ploy for him. I think it’s something he really wanted to do for a long time. Who am I or anyone to say he can’t do it? If Dana White and UFC as a whole sees it as a smart business move and willing to take a chance on it, then why the hell not?”
He also commented on possibly wrestling again:
“I could still do it. I’m probably in the best shape of my life right now…I made the statement that I would never consider wrestling over the age of 40 when I was over 40 years old. Here I am two clicks away from the big one (50). Having children changes your outlook 100 percent of your life. If it came to fruition, I would seriously consider it. With that said, it’s not going to stop my heart that I didn’t attain that by any stretch of the imagination.”
