CM Punk injured, 'taking time off' ahead of (eventual) UFC debut

Good thing CM Punk is rich, because he certainly isn't making any money as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.

That's because the former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar, who signed a deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in late 2014, has yet to step foot inside the Octagon after aligning himself with the Roufusport camp earlier this year in Milwaukee.

Slow and steady wins the race, I guess.

Head coach Duke Roufus expects Punk -- real name Phil Brooks -- to debut in the neighborhood of six-to-ten months, though it's likely to be more toward the end of that time frame after an unfortunate injury suffered in training camp.

Roufus talks to ESPN.com:

"He got caught in a scramble, so right now he's taking a little time off. He was doing great before that. His progress has been good. He's got a great attitude and he's a hard worker. Our biggest thing is we want him to 101 percent before [we resuming training]. We don't have a hard date for his fight to force the issue, so making sure he's completely healthy is possible. UFC will probably book him a fight three to four months in advance -- a guy of his magnitude. We're probably looking at a fight in the next six to 10 months. The injury throws us back one month. We had a ballpark. We were looking at mid- to late-spring. Now, we'll just have to see how he comes back from the injury."

Punk turns 37 later this month.

I'm sure Cathal Pendred is somewhere laughing his ass off, thanks to a Twitter war they started over the summer. UFC President Dana White, meanwhile, is still enamored with his latest acquisition, but may find it hard to convince the seasoned fight fan until Punk actually gets into the cage to compete.

See you next spring.