CM Punk's loss is our (my) win

I missed CM Punk's WWE run (and pro wrestling career, for that matter) almost entirely. I've since gone back and watched a few of his matches and his famous (or infamous), pipebomb (it's great, go watch it if you haven't already), so I was curious about his debut at UFC 203.

I've been reading a lot about what to expect from this match and I wanted to know what would actually happen since I don't know the first thing about MMA and the UFC.

The match was what it was. It lasted for less than 2 minutes and it seems to me that Punk wanted to land some punches and kicks but fell for a feint and was taken down, as simple as that.

Now. He fell right at the beginning and spent a few moments trying to get back on his feet, escape and turn things around, he wasn't able to and he ultimately had to tap out, but he didn't just give up. Punk endured a pounding and escaped a few attempts of Mickey Gall choking him before he tapped out and that made me realize how tough he is and how serious he was about this fight.

As I said, I don't know the first thing about MMA and I presume that 2 years of preparation interrupted by injuries and surgery is not enough time to compete with guys who have been training in MMA for several years (especially if they are 13 years younger), but it takes courage to step into the octagon, the ring or wherever it may be and accept that you might get your head kicked (or worse), and still do it.

Punk of course gave us a speech that was just about that and soon after I read this article by Arash Markazi at ESPN that galvanizes this narrative of dreaming big and never giving up or settle for anything less than what you want the most from life. Which is exactly what I was thinking as I watched the match...

And that's an awesome story to tell.

I'm a sucker for this kind of stories, especially because I'm at a point in my life where I'm trying to go where I want to instead of going where I can and all these inspirational tales resonate with me as if they were addressed to me personally (that's probably a whole other problem for therapy).

I realize that this is very likely the best possible story for the UFC to tell about this match (as other interpretations might be a lot more troublesome), and it might be better for them if they are not discussed at all, but as Tony Wilson would say (as portrayed by Steve Coogan in 24 hour party people), "When you have to choose between the truth and the legend, choose the legend."