CM Punk faces long odds on Saturday when he makes his UFC and mixed martial arts debut against Mickey Gall at UFC 203. After spending less than two years immersing himself in the fight game, Punk -- real name Phil Brooks -- is the biggest mystery of the card and a near 4-to-1 underdog against Gall. And when heavyweight veteran Ben Rothwell looks at the realities of the situation at UFC 203, he sees only one acceptable outcome.

"I [think] Mickey Gall goes out and just absolutely annihilates him," Rothwell said Tuesday on The MMA Hour. "I mean, bad. Like, makes us almost start laughing, it's so bad. And this is why, because I'm going to feel very good, like there's truth, there's justice in this sport. And hey, CM Punk is going to get paid. Like, major money. So it's not like we can laugh and point at him. He's going to be like, ‘I've never fought before, I don't even have an amateur record. I came in here and took on one of your guys with two pro fights in the UFC.'

"So it's just like, his worst case scenario isn't that bad. We get entertained because he's getting pummeled. Some of his fans might be a little sad, but it's just like, whatever, he carries on, and then he proves it, he comes back and tries to win the second fight or whatever, where I feel like there'd be a type of justice or like a truth."

The road to UFC 203 has been a long one for the 37-year-old Punk, who before signing with the UFC in Dec. 2014 had zero mixed martial arts training outside of a hobbyist interest in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Lingering injuries forced a delay in Punk's journey, but after spending a majority of the past 21 months training at Milwaukee's Roufusport gym, the former WWE superstar is finally ready to make it into the Octagon, and Rothwell hopes everything is on the level once Punk and Gall make that walk.

"I don't like the controversy. I don't want to see it," Rothwell said. "I don't want to see a second-round rear-naked choke from CM Punk. I don't want to see it. It's going to look stupid. It's going to look questionable to me, it's going to look dumb and I'm going to get mad ... because after this many years in the sport, I've seen things, I know things about how we should perform. This is this person's experience against this person, and this is what this person is doing. These are the things that I'm watching about how a person fights, so, I don't know, we'll just see."

While Rothwell may appear to be against Punk's foray into the UFC, as are many of his fellow Octagon veterans, "Big Ben" actually sees both sides to the situation.

Rothwell noted that regardless of Punk's success, the outcome of the experiment is going to be a positive for all involved, as Punk will earn a big payday and fans of the former pro wrestler will still be interested in seeing a second fight, meanwhile the rest of the roster at UFC 203 will enjoy a boost in viewership prompted by the spectacle. And ultimately, Rothwell simply can't fault Punk for capitalizing on an opportunity to follow his dream.

"I have a mix of emotions, I see many points of views," Rothwell said. "On a business end, it's great. More eyes on it. And then as a veteran of the sport, it's like, man, there's no dues paid. So it's just an interesting thing. I don't try to think too negatively about CM Punk. He's a guy that was presented with an opportunity. He's taking advantage of the opportunity, and he's just taking it where he can go. It's not like he came in and strong-armed the UFC and said ‘you're going to give me this,' and we're like, ‘oh my God, he committed a crime, he's forcing them to pay him.' No, the UFC offered him a contract, he accepted it, which any one of us may have done.

"So it's like, people need to get over it. That's life. Crazy opportunities happen. More money getting thrown around, that could be good for everybody if it starts getting directed correctly. So I just try to look at that. And if anything, for Stipe, I congratulated him when I knew that CM Punk was getting put on, because he is getting paid on pay-per-view buys. That's going to help him, so that was a good thing for him. So there's positives from this, and more eyes on the sport is always good. There is no doubt that CM Punk has a fanbase. You cannot deny it and they're going to watch him. That's good for us."