Cain Velasquez is injured and will no longer defend his UFC heavyweight title against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 180. Instead, popular heavyweight Mark Hunt will step in to face Werdum for the interim title at the Nov. 15 event.
That’s according to a Tuesday report from Sherdog.
A lot of MMA fans will surely be disappointed by the news. Velasquez is proving to be nearly as injury-prone outside of the cage as he is dominant inside of it. UFC 180 is scheduled to take place in Mexico City in front of a fanbase with which Velasquez, a Mexican-American, strongly identifies.
Absolutely bummed for @cainmma. He wanted this fight in Mexico City badly. Werdum battles Hunt for interim title in UFC 180 main event.
— Dave Sholler (@Sholler_UFC) October 22, 2014
The exact nature of Velasquez’s injury was not immediately disclosed, other than to say it was an injury to his knee.
The interim title distinction adds some of the lost intrigue back into the UFC 180 main event. And the move makes sense for the UFC given that the lineal heavyweight champ has not fought in more than a year thanks to injuries.
Velasquez tore his shoulder labrum in his last bout, a TKO of Junior dos Santos, in late 2013. He underwent surgery for the injury and was returning to more active training, but then a hand injury caused a further setback.
Either way, UFC 180 was to be Velasquez’s return. His next big return, for the moment, is unclear.
Hunt vs. Werdum should make for an interesting scrap. Hunt is a dyed-in-the-wool knockout artist, while Werdum is one of the best heavyweight grapplers on the planet. Werdum’s stand-up game is probably better than Hunt’s grappling game, which could give the early odds edge to Brazilian Werdum over Hunt.
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