It’s been four months since fans last saw Cain Velasquez inside the Octagon.
The former UFC heavyweight champion was last seen against Junior dos Santos at UFC on FOX 1 last November, where he suffered the first loss of his career and was forced to surrender the UFC heavyweight title.
It was a surreal moment for Velasquez, who isn’t likely to forget the fateful night anytime soon. But he felt more disappointed in his performance than the loss itself.
“I especially wanted to go out there and give the fans a great fight,” Velasquez told Yahoo! Sports following a UFC press conference earlier this week. “For it to go the way it did, that definitely sucked.”
Although it was a devastating loss for the Mexican-American, Velasquez took it in stride and understood that victory and defeat come along with the territory of being in the sport.
Despite all the hype declaring him as an unbeatable champion and the media proclaiming him as the next dominant force in the UFC heavyweight division, Velasquez wasn’t buying into the attention.
“I’m a realist. I knew I wasn’t going to go through my career undefeated,” he said. “People lose. Even the best guys lose. I knew as soon as it was over, I had to pick myself back up and keep going forward.”
And Velasquez will move forward and head towards a bout with fellow former UFC champion Frank Mir at UFC 146.
It is expected that the winner will meet the winner of the card’s main event between Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem to challenge for the heavyweight crown.
For Velasquez, the past is irrelevant now as he looks to redeem himself for what happened against the Brazilian and begin his quest for another chance at a UFC championship.
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