If you were a member of the UFC brass, where would you place CM Punk on a PPV card? What do you do with an 0-1 MMA fighter who has 2.78 million Twitter followers?

If you’re a purist, your initial response might be, “If I were a member of the UFC brass, I wouldn’t have signed him in the first place.” And then when pressed for a direct answer, it’s doubtful such a critic would find a place for Punk on the main card.

If you’re a businessperson, you may scoff at the purist and argue, “Anybody who draws more eyeballs should be on the main card. It’s all about the bottom line; that’s the way of the world.”

In the end, regardless of which side has more votes, the reality is that CM Punk will be opening the UFC 225 main card. And after reading criticism of his placement on the card, Punk received backup from an unexpected source: UFC Hall of Famer Mark “The Hammer” Coleman:

Sometimes u have to make exceptions.$ I'm excited for this fight . I wish @CMPunk the best! But I understand.

— Mark Coleman (@HammerHouseMMA) May 14, 2018

Soon after, Punk himself weighed in on the subject, and his answer to where he deserves to be placed on the UFC 225 card may surprise you:

I understand too. If it was up to me, I'd be first fight on fight pass. Don't matter to me. Fans like to be outraged by stuff that doesn't matter. (Appreciate the support Mr. Coleman!!!!! You're truly the man)

— Coach (@CMPunk) May 14, 2018

UFC 225 contains arguably the most stacked card of the year, headlined by Robert Whitaker defending the middleweight championship against Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero, an interim title fight between Rafael Dos Anjos and Colby “Chaos” Covington, and much more.

The card is so stacked that great matchups like Holly Holm vs. Megan Anderson and Ricardo Lamas vs. Mirsad Bektic are on the prelims. If you think that CM Punk has no business being placed above such names, perhaps knowing that he agrees with you may make the perceived blow to the sport’s credibility more tolerable.