CHICAGO – The second fight in the MMA career of Phil “CM Punk” Brooks takes place Saturday at UFC 225. The former WWE superstar said he’s feeling far more prepared than in his debut outing – even despite dealing with outside-the-cage drama during fight week.

More than 19 months after suffering a first-round submission loss to Mickey Gall at UFC 203, Punk (0-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) makes his return to the octagon this weekend against Mike Jackson (0-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC). The welterweight fight opens the pay-per-view main card following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass at United Center in Chicago.

It’s been a trying lead-up to the event for Punk. He’s spent much of the past week in a courtroom dealing with a defamation lawsuit filed by WWE doctor Chris Amann stemming from a controversial 2014 interview Punk conducted with pro wrestler Colt Cabana. Punk and Cabana were deemed not guilty by a jury on all potential counts, allowing Punk to breath easy going into one of the defining moments of his career.

Naturally, Punk wishes the situation didn’t happen in the first place. He said it was a burden but didn’t shift his focus from the task at hand at UFC 225.

“A very broad answer, is it didn’t (distract me),” Punk told MMAjunkie. “I knew it was coming, and they delayed it as long as possible, because I think they knew (I had a fight scheduled). I think the general consensus is, ‘Wow, this is really going to mess with him.’

“I’m a different breed, though. I was planning for it. and we worked around it, and all the hard work was done anyway, so easy-peasy. … It feels like more than a load off my shoulders. It still hasn’t sunk in, and it probably won’t for a while, but I’m happy it’s over.”

Relieved that the situation is behind him, Punk said he can now turn his attention to his second UFC fight. His first went about as poorly as possible, with Gall instantly taking down Punk before battering and submitting with a choke. It was a difficult learning lesson – but one Punk is now able to reflect on with a clear mind.

“Reassessing everything now, being able to step back, I think I was too chill,” Punk said. “I think I was too relaxed. I was just waiting for the super-anxiety and the nerves to kick in. It didn’t ever really happen. Obviously the first big, ‘Oh, (expletive)’ moment is, ‘He’s got my hips. Ay, ay, ay. I’m in trouble.’ I don’t know either way if that affected me, and I can’t say if that was good or bad. It’s something I’ve never done before, so I have that under my belt now. I do believe the experience of the one time, even though it was a loss, I think it’s going to help.”

After the loss, Punk stayed off the radar, and for a long time Dana White wouldn’t commit to having him back. Eventually the UFC president did, but for Punk that only solidified a destination for his next contest; in his mind he always knew a second fight would take place – be it in the UFC or elsewhere.

“I texted (Dana White) and apologized like, ‘Sorry I (expletive) the bed. Onto the next one, let’s go,'” Punk said. “He was just like, ‘Bro, that was your first fight. Don’t worry about it.’ I can’t remember the exact conversation, but he was receptive. I’m pretty sure I was very self-deprecating like, ‘If you want to cut me, cut me.’ But I’m going to fight again.

“It was never about, ‘Oh, I just want to try it the one time.’ If I’m going to try it. I’m going to try it. That means you deal with the losses and you deal with the bad days as well as the good days.”

Punk said that after loathing with some unhealthy food choices, he quickly returned to the gym. He had some nagging injuries to deal with, but he remained dedicated to getting better with each training session.

At 39 and with financial security on his side, Punk understandably could’ve decided MMA wasn’t for him after his first fight. He said quitting was never an option, though, and that his enjoyment of MMA relieves pressure going into his sophomore contest.

“It’s not the weight-of-the-world pressure, like with all the talk of I shouldn’t be here to begin with and I definitely should’ve gotten cut after the last fight,” Punk said. “I’m probably on the chopping block, but who knows? Maybe not. I don’t look past Saturday. It’s not like I’m tired of training and I’m sick of training and I wish I was doing something else or I have my eyes set on doing movies or becoming a pro golfer or working in the mailroom somewhere. I still enjoy training every single day. I still am fortunate that can be my full-time job. I train with guys who have one or two other side jobs, and I see how hard they work, and it just motivates me to work even harder. We’ll have to see what happens Saturday night, and then maybe it’s a question for Sunday morning. But I’ve got all the confidence in the world in myself and mostly my team.”

Although Punk does his best to block out the outside world, he’s well aware of the narratives that he doesn’t belong in the UFC – much less to be fighting on a PPV card. He’s not bothered by any of it, though, he said, and proudly delivered a message to those with criticism to offer.

“I could give a (expletive) if they watch or not,” Punk said. “Don’t watch. If you bought the Kiss album that came out before they took their makeup off and they don’t like it, don’t buy the (expletive) album where they take their makeup off. It’s a gimmick. Don’t watch. But you’re still going to go complain about it on Twitter. It’s none of my business what you think of me. I don’t care.

“I think people’s perception of me is that I have a huge (ego). I really don’t think I do. You called me a superstar, and I don’t view myself through that lens at all. At all. I get it. I did some stuff. Whatever. But when it comes to all the stuff that maybe MMA fans think matter, being on the pay-per-view, being on the poster – I’m like, whatever. If I can fight earlier, I’d like to fight earlier because I try not to train at 9 o’clock at night, and I’d be showered and elbow deep in a pizza and a pint of ice cream before y’all get in the building. So why are y’all mad?”

Whether it’s courtroom drama or fans angered by his presence in the UFC, Punk said none of the outside noise matters at UFC 225. He’s been repeatedly called out by Jackson since his debut fight, and now it’s finally happening. Punk isn’t putting much focus on what his opponent is going to do, though, and he’s instead running through the scenarios.

“I see myself taking my time and getting a little comfortable,” Punk said. “I think that was a big thing. I just kind of need to get in there for a couple seconds and bounce around and just be in the octagon for a little bit. I think last time I thought, ‘Well the quicker I start, the quicker it’s over.’ I was kind of right.

“This time it’s going to be a little bit different. I’m just going to take my time, make sure I’m doing a lot of the little things the right way, orient myself to where I’m at, find my coaches and make sure I can hear them. Then just take it slow. The object from that point is to have fun.”

For more on UFC 225, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.