Cain Velasquez was planning on fighting Fabricio Werdum with a slightly torn meniscus in his right knee, but after spraining his MCL in the same knee late last week, he was forced to pull out of the fight.
According to Javier Mendez, Velasquez’s coach at the American Kickboxing Academy, Velasquez has been dealing with a torn meniscus for quite some time, however, he suffered the sprained MCL during a training session (sprawl drills) on Oct. 16 or 17 and that ended his dream of headlining a show in Mexico City (for now, of course).
Velasquez is scheduled to have surgery on his right knee on Thursday in San Jose, Calif. The surgery will fix the torn meniscus, while rehab will be needed for the sprained MCL.
According to UFC president Dana White, the promotion is hopeful the UFC heavyweight champion will be able to return to action by March, and Mendez, who said Velasquez was in “good spirits” all things considered, agreed with that timeline.
The UFC announced on Tuesday that, as a result of the Velasquez injury, Mark Hunt will now meet Werdum at UFC 180 on Nov. 15 for the interim heavyweight title.