By James Caldwell, PWTorch assistant editor

WWE champion C.M. Punk took the heat for not appearing on the UFC on Fox broadcast Saturday from his hometown of Chicago in an interview with Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com this week.

"We have a show before the big PPV, Royal Rumble, and I somehow, miraculously, found myself off the show to get an extra day in Chicago. It's something we (Punk and UFC fighter Chael Sonnen) talked about, yeah. I think it might have gotten leaked before all of the chickens were hatched, so, so be it," Punk said.

Asked if he removed himself to avoid taking the spotlight on a UFC card, Punk said, "It wasn't so much (stealing) Chael's thunder. I didn't really want to overshadow the main event. There's some egos in there, and I didn't want to upset anybody."

Punk also talked about retired UFC star/former WWE star Brock Lesnar. He said he would welcome Lesnar back to WWE, but he doesn't see Lesnar on the WWE schedule again and he's not sure it would make financial sense for WWE to give Lesnar one big WrestleMania payday.

"I would welcome Brock back, but I don't think Brock wants to come back, but that's just my opinion," Punk said. "There's a few guys out there that there isn't a place for them in modern-day WWE. I just don't know if they (WWE) would be willing to spend the money for one big payday. I think it would be great for business. I think me and him very similar traits - hatred for everybody."

Punk also said he doesn't see Kevin Nash and Mick Foley being able to handle today's schedule at their age. Punk, who was respectful of Nash after their program in 2011, said guys like Nash and Foley paved the way for his era of stars, but they don't need to prove anything. "The climate is if you work here, you need to be on the road 24/7," he said. "To come back and work a schedule that is so demanding can be a little tough."

Punk also talked about his MMA background as a fan, friend of Chael Sonnen, and practitioner of various martial arts. Asked if he would want to have just one UFC fight during his life, Punk said, "Yes." He added, "I would love to give it a chance. Obviously, the only thing stopping me is I have a contract with WWE. Also, I'm no spring chicken. I'm kind of like an older, broken-down, baby deer."

Continuing the Pro Wrestling/MMA theme, Punk compared WWE CEO Vince McMahon to UFC president Dana White: "I like that Dana is way more off-the-cuff than Vince is. I think the fans of the UFC can relate to Dana more than the fans of WWE can relate to Vince. I don't know if that's an age thing or what that is."

Video: Punk's comments are in a 30-minute interview with Helwani below.



Video URL: http://tinyurl.com/72m5r4h

[Torch art credit Grant Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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