With another injury to Cain Velasquez, Fabricio Werdum will now defend his heavyweight belt for the first time against Stipe Miocic at UFC 196 next month.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has suffered a back injury and is out of his upcoming title fight with Fabricio Werdum early next month. The severity of the injury is unknown at this point. Filling in for him is top contender Stipe Miocic, who now faces the Brazilian for the heavyweight championship at UFC 196. UFC president Dana White confirmed the news via Twitter on Sunday:
Cain Velasquez is out with a back injury. Stipe vs Werdum for the heavyweight championship February 6th. pic.twitter.com/vPRJYJvOjL
— Dana White (@danawhite) January 24, 2016
Werdum (20-5-1) defeated Velasquez last June at UFC 188 to become the new heavyweight titleholder. He defeated Mark Hunt at the end of 2014 to win the interim championship — he was supposed to initially challenge Velasquez at UFC 180, but Velasquez was forced out of the contest with an injury. Werdum is currently riding a six-fight winning streak, which also includes a dominant victory over Travis Browne, which earned him his title shot.
Miocic (14-2) is coming off a stunning first-round TKO over Andrei Arlovski earlier this month at UFC 195 in the evening’s co-main event. His record’s only blemish since 2012 is a late-2014 close decision loss to former champ Junior dos Santos. Some of Miocic’s other notable wins are stoppages over Mark Hunt and Fabio Maldonado.
UFC 196 takes place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Feb. 6. In the co-headliner, former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks returns to action against rising star Stephen Thompson.