LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 02: Phil "C.M. Punk" Brooks interacts with fans during a Q&A session before the UFC 182 weigh-in event at the MGM Grand Conference Center on January 2, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
CM Punk is still waiting to make his debut in the UFC but he's definitely not slowing down with his career outside the cage as he gets ready for his first ongoing monthly comic book series to launch in November.
Punk will write "Drax" -- a character many fans know better as Drax the Destroyer from the film "Guardians of the Galaxy" -- and writing comics has become the former WWE superstar's main interest when he's away from the gym.
At this point, Punk's life consists primarily of two things -- training or writing. It's keeping him plenty busy as he gets closer and closer to making his UFC debut. From the sound of things, writing comic books might actually be more difficult that picking up mixed martial arts.
"I train almost three or four times a day, so I know that's what my day consists of," Punk told Marvel.com in a recent interview. "So basically when I wake up I go, 'Hmm, I'm going to write some pages today,' and then I go and I train, then I train some more, then I train some more, then I eat, and I shower, then I go home and walk my dog, then I go back and train some more. And the whole time I'm going, 'I'm going to write some pages, I'm going to write some pages.' Then I get home, and more often than not, I don't write pages.
"I'm a notorious procrastinator. It's actually kind of difficult to find the head space to balance it out. I really have to be in the mood to sit down and write, and then sometimes even when I do that nothing comes out. And from what I understand from talking to other comic creators, that seems to be normal, so at least I know that's the norm."
Currently, Punk might be getting some extra work done ahead of time on "Drax" thanks to a shoulder injury that forced him to miss several weeks in the gym. The injury has likely pushed back his UFC debut until sometime during the first or second quarter of 2016, but he's making the most of his time off.
Punk has written for Marvel previously, but only on two short stories involving Thor for his debut with the comic book giant.
Now, Punk is taking on a monthly book with one of the hottest franchises currently running after the huge success of "Guardians of the Galaxy" in theaters with another sequel planned for 2017.
Punk admittedly wasn't as familiar with Drax from the movie as much as he was with the original character from the comics, but he learned quickly thanks to his friend and fellow WWE superstar Dave Bautista playing him in the film version.
"As soon as I knew I was writing 'Drax', I texted him right away," Punk said about Bautista. "And I was like, 'Dude, I'm pretty much writing you in a comic book. I'm gonna try to make him do a lot of stupid stuff just to embarrass you.' But yeah, he thought it was funny."
Besides their common history in pro wrestling, Punk also shares another quality with Bautista -- they both aspired to become mixed martial artists after competing in the WWE.
Bautista actually trained at under Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Cesar Gracie, who is also the long-time trainer for UFC stalwarts such as Nick and Nate Diaz. He ended up with a win in the only professional fight he took before focusing on his acting career.
Bautista actually fought at age 43 and had no real experience prior to his first MMA bout and Punk says that drive and determination is the same kind of fire that burns inside of him as he prepares to make his UFC debut.
"Me and him are, oddly enough, alike in a lot of ways," Punk said about Bautista. "We both dream a lot bigger than a lot of people we know, and we just chase them. [Writing this comic] could be a scary thing if you think about it, but there was no way I was going to say no; it was a hell of an opportunity."
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