A change is coming.
Cain Velasquez hasn’t seen the inside of the Octagon since coughing up his Heavyweight title to Fabricio Werdum in June of 2015. The ex-title holder was forced out of their much-anticipated rematch, which was set to go down earlier this year, due to a back injury.
Prior to his loss against Fabricio, Cain had been sidelined nearly two years due to lingering shoulder issues. As a result of his and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s nagging issues, UFC president Dana White dubbed American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) a “stone age gym” for their training methods.
Luke Rockhold wasn’t impressed.
Nevertheless, as Velasquez gears up for his return to the cage on July 9, 2016 at UFC 200 against Travis Browne, he says he will change up his training habits moving forward, as he explained to MMA Junkie that he intends to scale down his sparring sessions in order to avoid further injury.
“Things change in your body. All the injuries that have happened, the most important thing is making the fight – not just for me, but for the fans also. I don’t want to be out. I want to be active and I want to fight. That’s what I’m here for. This is my job, and I love my job, so I want to do it. I think sparring three times a week, I think for me I would say it isn’t as beneficial as guys who are barely coming in to the sport. I think cut it down to two days or maybe even one day. As long as I am in condition and sharp, I’ve had the experience and practice. That’s all I need.”
Smart move.
With a win over “Hapa,” Cain cold find himself in another title fight against the winner of UFC 198’s championship showdown before the aforementioned Werdum taking on Stipe Miocic.
First things first, as Velasquez is doing everything in his power to get to UFC 200 safe and sound.