NY Times reckon CM Punk could potentially be the next Ronda Rousey

Despite being nine years her senior and having yet to make his MMA debut, the New York Times put CM Punk in the running to "fill the gap left by Ronda Rousey".

The New York Times have published their list of top 10 fighters who could replace Ronda Rousey as the UFC's biggest star, and it's been drawing some attention for perhaps the wrong reasons. As you might expect, the likes of Jon Jones, Conor McGregor and Chris Weidman all feature, but coming in at number eight is former WWE star Phil Brooks. Brooks AKA CM Punk, came in ahead flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson and lightweight contender Donald Cerrone. Their reasoning for his inclusion, is the success of a certain other professional wrestler who made some serious waves in the promotion.

"Though the sport continues to mature, there is still a lot of carnival in mixed martial arts, and most fans enjoy that. Brock Lesnar was an accomplished heavyweight champion, but his popularity in the cage stemmed in large part from his years in professional wrestling."

"Now another colorful wrestler, C.M. Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, is set to try his hand at M.M.A., with a debut sometime in 2016. There is no telling how good he will be, and many people expect him to flop. But if it turns out he can fight, his background will make him one of the most watched fighters very quickly."

Check out the full list below.

10. Donald Cerrone 9. Demetrious Johnson – UFC flyweight champion 8. CM Punk 7. Anderson Silva – Former middleweight champion and P4P king 6. Chris Weidman – UFC middleweight champion 5. Holly Holm – UFC women’s bantamweight champion 4. Jose Aldo – UFC featherweight champion 3. Conor McGregor – UFC interim featherweight champion 2. Jon Jones – Former UFC light heavyweight champion and P4P king 1. Ronda Rousey