Ben Askren was backstage at UFC 181 when he heard the news. As he was sitting in the locker room of Roufusport teammate and UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis, the TV monitor showed the UFC’s newest acquisition, former pro wrestler Phil “CM Punk” Brooks, who, at 36, has no MMA fights to his credit and little more than some recreational jiu-jitsu experience and a huge fan base to recommend him for the job.

For Askren – who the UFC opted not to sign after he finished his contract with Bellator, where he reigned as the unbeaten welterweight champ for three years – this new development was equal parts confusing and surprising.

“Everyone in the locker room just thought it was strange,” Askren told MMAjunkie. “Obviously, if you’re on Twitter you heard rumors about it prior to this, but for it to actually happen was a shock, because the UFC is the organization that claims to promote the best fights in the world. Here they signed a guy who not only has no MMA fights but has no real combat-sports background at all. It’s not like he was some boxer or wrestler, or a guy like Brock Lesnar. He was this hulking guy who was a national champion wrestler. CM Punk has no real background in this at all.”

That makes it a little irksome for Askren. After Bellator seemed content to let him walk away at least in part because it didn’t care for his fighting style, UFC President Dana White suggested he go to WSOF to get a few more wins, despite the fact that he was 12-0 in about four years as a professional. Now the UFC was signing a guy with zero fights, all because his pro wrestling popularity will likely help him sell pay-per-views.

“A lot of people are excited about this CM Punk signing because he’s got a big name, a lot of Twitter followers or whatever, and he’ll bring a lot of initial attention,” Askren said. “But the question I ask is, how are they going to find someone that they can be sure he wins a fight against? Say they get someone who’s 2-1. What if he lost to that guy? What is his long-term drawing power? He’s 36 and has no combat-sports experience. People might be excited about it for a fight or maybe even two fights, but can he really stay around for three, four, five years? And can he stick around for that long while also still keeping the sport of MMA legitimate?”

But there might be an upside for Askren in all this. When the UFC announced that it had signed Brooks, it didn’t take long for hardcore fans to point out the hypocrisy of keeping an experienced former Olympic wrestler like Askren out while letting an untested former pro wrestler in. Askren was quick to address it via Twitter, he said, “because a lot of people were definitely looking at me to say something.”

By signing Brooks, the UFC may have inadvertently highlighted the contrast between his background and skills and those of Askren. If anything, all of this only increases the pressure to bring Askren into the octagon, though he insists he isn’t holding his breath.

“Obviously, I’d love the chance to fight for the number one spot in the world, but there’s a lot of other things that come along with doing that,” Askren. “For me, yeah, I would like the chance to fight for the spot, but it’s not a must-have. I feel like I’ve proved enough about myself in the sports world. I have no doubt that I’m the best welterweight in the world. I just haven’t gotten the chance to prove that. It would be nice to add that to my name, the undisputed greatest welterweight in the world, but if I don’t get to prove it it’s not going to break my heart.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.