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UFC News: Cain Velasquez Discusses His Shoulder Injury and Future Opponents

The recovery process for any athlete can be grueling and hard to swallow, for the most part. Since January, UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez has been nursing a shoulder injury he suffered during his title bout against Brock Lesnar at UFC 1…

The recovery process for any athlete can be grueling and hard to swallow, for the most part.

Since January, UFC heavyweight champion, Cain Velasquez has been nursing a shoulder injury he suffered during his title bout against Brock Lesnar at UFC 122, ultimately forcing him out of action.

Velasquez, who participated in the “Super 7” presentation last week, spoke about the condition of his injury.

“I had a torn labrum and they had to reattach it,” Velasquez told UFC commentator, Joe Rogan.

“It takes so long because of the shoulder, they said not a lot of blood gets to the shoulder, so it takes a while for it to heal.”

Velasquez, who carries an undefeated record of 9-0-0, commented on his rehabilitation and said his main intention is to regain the strength and motion in his shoulder. Velasquez added that doctors have acknowledged his impressive recovery thus far and he expects to resume training under his doctors’ orders.

“I have all the faith in the doctors that the UFC provides, so once he says, ‘100 percent,’ then I’m ready to go,” he said.

As far as when the heavyweight champion will return to the Octagon, reports have suggested he will make his first title defense in October. In the meantime, Velasquez will wait for either Brock Lesnar or Junior Dos Santos, as they will battle to determine the No. 1 contender for Velasquez’s title.

When asked on the possibility of a potential rematch with Lesnar, Velasquez doesn’t expect the former heavyweight champion to be an easy opponent.

“The competitor that he is, you’re always going to get a better guy, a better Brock Lesnar. He is going to keep improving, just like all these guys are, everybody in this sport is going to keep evolving, the sport is going to keep evolving so you can never take anybody lightly at all,” he said.

Velasquez also commented on the acquisition of Strikeforce and praised the addition of heavyweight talent such as Alistair Overeem and Fabricio Werdum.

In regards to the talent the UFC can acquire and bring forth, Velasquez said he is eager to fight top competition, in order to determine the best heavyweight in mixed martial arts.

“I’m glad that the UFC finally can, later down the road, match everybody up together, so that the fans and me can have a true number one champion.”

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Boxing Champ Andre Ward Talks About Nick Diaz’s Boxing Ability

In an interview with ESPN, WBA Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward shared his feelings about Strikeforce welterweight title holder Nick Diaz. While Ward said he was pumped to see Diaz enter the boxing ring against Jeff Lacy this fall, he did nothing…

In an interview with ESPN, WBA Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward shared his feelings about Strikeforce welterweight title holder Nick Diaz.

While Ward said he was pumped to see Diaz enter the boxing ring against Jeff Lacy this fall, he did nothing close to endorsing a victory for the elder Diaz brother.

Ward, like Diaz, trains in California, and the two have spared together on “six or seven occasions” for multiple rounds, according to the super middleweight boxer.

Anyone who doubts that Ward’s opinion holds water on this matter needs to realize that on top of being a current champion, “The Son of God” won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

He also holds a professional boxing record of 23-0, with 13 wins by way of knockout.

“I appreciate and admire [Diaz’s] courage,” Ward told ESPN.com while in Las Vegas to watch Manny Pacquiao’s recent win over Shane Mosley. He added, “It remains to be seen how well he’ll do, though.”

The last time a boxer tried to enter the cage, fans certainly recall how James Toney fared against Randy Couture.

Ward wants to let fight fans know that the opposite should not be any easier. “Nick has good hands, some of the best hands in MMA. But professional boxing is totally different. Totally different.”

Hopefully, Diaz was not expected an endorsement from Ward, as the boxer choose not to answer whether or not Diaz could hold his own in the ring.

“I can’t really talk about that,” Ward said. “That’s something fighters don’t reveal out of respect for each other. It was good work, though. He’s a southpaw and he just keeps on coming. It’s definitely good work.”

Fans, fighters and even Diaz’s own manager Cesar Gracie seem to think that Diaz would pass on the fight with Lacy all together if a welterweight unification match with UFC champ Georges St-Pierre became a legitimate possibility.

Diaz actually has one boxing match under his belt, a four-round unanimous decision victory back in 2005.

Meanwhile, Lacy has a professional record of 25-4, with 17 wins via knockout.

He also held the IBF Super Middleweight title between October of 2004 and March of 2006, but some critics seem to think Lacy’s days in the ring are numbered after losing three of his past four bouts.

Regardless of where Lacy’s boxing career is heading in the long term, Andre Ward feels that Lacy still makes for a very difficult opponent for Diaz.

“Lacy is dangerous,” Ward said. “I don’t know what everyone is talking about with Lacy. He is dangerous and he’s a very difficult fight for Nick. Jeff is a friend of mine and Nick is a friend of mine. I just want to sit back and watch it. It remains to be seen how it will all work out.”

Ward puts his WBA Super Middleweight Title on the line when he faces Arthur Abraham in the semifinals of the Super Six World Boxing classic tournament.

The title fight is set to take place on Saturday, May 14 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, so there is no doubt that Ward will be a big hometown favorite.

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UFC 131 Fight Card: If Chris Weidman Wins, Should He Get Court McGee Next?

Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:I’ve been thinking about this for weeks, but until now I hadn’t had the time to get it out in the open. Considering how quickly we’ll be closing in on UFC 131 after this Saturday’s UFC 129 event, I figured now would be a…

Bleacher Report’s Dale De Souza:

I’ve been thinking about this for weeks, but until now I hadn’t had the time to get it out in the open.

Considering how quickly we’ll be closing in on UFC 131 after this Saturday’s UFC 129 event, I figured now would be a good time to talk about one Chris Weidman.

Remember Weidman—the guy who was brought into the UFC as a replacement for Maiquel Falcao and was supposed to get smashed by Alessio Sakara?

He wound up dominating Sakara for the majority of the bout and was instantly put on the map as a guy to keep both eyes on in the UFC’s otherwise-cleared-out middleweight division.

He gets relative newcomer Jesse Bongfeldt at UFC 131 in what should be an entertaining fight—one that was supposed to be Court McGee’s fight before an injury took McGee out of the picture temporarily.

This has led me to draw out a scenario that may or may not work at this point in Weidman’s UFC run, but nonetheless, I find that while it might stylistically be a nightmare for Weidman. It could also wind up being an action-packed encounter that might be a candidate for Fight of The Year.

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UFC 130 Main Card: Roy Nelson Expects a Title Shot After UFC 130

Roy Nelson always strives to stay relevant and compete against some of the top fighters.It just so happens, he’ll face off against Frank Mir at UFC 130. Mir is considered by many to be one the best heavyweights in mixed martial arts, holding victories …

Roy Nelson always strives to stay relevant and compete against some of the top fighters.

It just so happens, he’ll face off against Frank Mir at UFC 130. Mir is considered by many to be one the best heavyweights in mixed martial arts, holding victories over former champions Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Brock Lesnar.

Nelson told MMAJunkie.com he is content to square off against Mir, but he expects a title shot in return.

“I’ll fight anybody, and I want to fight everybody, but whatever is going to get me to the top fastest,” Nelson said.

Nelson has made an impact since arriving in the UFC three years ago, completing a sweep of The Ultimate Fighter en route to eventually winning a UFC contract. He has picked up victories over heavyweight prospects Brendan Schaub and Stefan Struve.

Nelson also shares some history with the former UFC heavyweight champion, as both competitors competed in a grappling match that saw Nelson earn the victory in 2003.

Both men have become completely different fighters since then, and according to Nelson, beating Mir shouldn’t be much different this time around.

“You’re a little bit older and wiser,” he said. “In my case, I’d be a bit stronger, bigger and faster.”

Since his loss to Nelson, Mir has gone through some ups and downs throughout his career. He was on the receiving end of a knockout loss from Shane Carwin at UFC 111, then he recently rebounded with a win over Mirko Cro Cop at UFC 119.

Despite the recent setbacks, Nelson said he respects Mir and considers him to be one fight away from a title shot. And given his own track record, Nelson doesn’t see himself too far out of reach either.

“I’m fighting a two-time champion, the longest reigning heavyweight employed by current Zuffa,” Nelson said.

“He’s basically a legend of the heavyweight division. I think whoever wins this fight is going to get the next title shot.”

And while being nothing short of confident, Nelson said he believes he is a contender.

“I became a champion in other organizations. Now, I just want to make a run at this. Pretty much any organization I get into I become champion. So this is my run in the UFC,” he said.

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UFC 130: Does Rampage Jackson Have Any Desire to Be Elite in the UFC?

It seems that Quinton Jackson has no desire to be an elite MMA fighter anymore. He said in a recent interview that he is simply now fighting for the money and wants to move on to acting as soon as that pays him more. That’s fine, because if he is…

First of all, if Quinton really has no desire left to be an MMA fighter, then who wants to pay to see him fight? As soon as I heard that the third Gray Maynard-Frankie Edgar fight had been called off, my stomach sank because I knew that Rampage-Matt Hamill would now be the main event that we would all be stuck with.

I personally feel that Jackson will dispatch of Hamill fairly easily at the MGM Grand Garden Arena at UFC 130, May 28. What is unfortunate is the fact that he has such major talent, yet he forever seems like he does not care and chooses to squander it. I will give two glaring examples that will illustrate my point.

First of all, look at how he coached on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) in his two appearances. He was subpar, and I am being nice by putting it that way. On season 10 he coached heavyweight fighters, and he chose to pick Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson first?! That move made me scratch my head.

Then he seemed to care little about training his fighters and molding them into future mixed martial arts champions—and that is why he was on the show. He was also there to promote a fight with Rashad Evans that was supposed to take place after TUF in Jackson’s hometown of Memphis. Rampage would have drawn a great crowd in support of him.

Instead he took an acting role in the A-Team movie and decided to make the UFC and his fans wait. That was a mistake in my opinion, especially from a guy that still pretended to care about MMA at that point.

Secondly, Rampage clearly does not have a desire to be an elite mixed martial artist or regain his title because of the fact that he is never in shape to fight these days.

He admitted that when he was slated to fight Forrest Griffin and defend his UFC light heavyweight title in the summer of 2008, he had been playing video games and eating pizza and was horribly out of shape before his training camp. He still nearly won that fight! After having his lead leg battered badly, he was able to finish the fight and nearly win it.

On the Prime Time show to promote his fight with Rashad Evans, Jackson made it a point to say he was training harder than he had in his life. Come to find out it was because he showed up to his camp at 252 pounds and was slated to fight a top fighter, Rashad Evans, at 205 a mere two months and change later. He was able to blitz Rashad in the third and may have put him away had he possessed the cardio conditioning to do so.

I used to be a huge Rampage Jackson fan. I have paid to see him on pay-per-view, and I paid to go watch him in Ohio for UFC 96, but if he no longer cares about fighting, the sport in general or his fans, then I find it hard to want to support him. How can we care about Quinton’s career if he doesn’t care himself?

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UFC 131 Fight Card: Junior Dos Santos Says Brock Lesnar Has a "Weak Chin"

Bleacher Report’s John Heinis:The main event of UFC 131 is heating up, as Junior Dos Santos has now taken a verbal swing at former heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar.Dos Santos’ latest comments with The MMA Hour showed how confident he is for the June 11 s…

Bleacher Report’s John Heinis:

The main event of UFC 131 is heating up, as Junior Dos Santos has now taken a verbal swing at former heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar.

Dos Santos’ latest comments with The MMA Hour showed how confident he is for the June 11 showdown between the two heavyweight contenders.

“He’s a wrestler, so he feels uncomfortable when people throw punches on him. I think his fight against Cain Velasquez shows good things for me, because I think he’s got a weak chin.”

The Brazilian power puncher also had his comments fueled by what Lesnar said in an interview with The Aftermath.

After acknowledging that his boxing needs improvement, the former “Next Big Thing” went on to say: “As far as learning…I don’t know if you ever get used to taking punches, but that’s not the problem.”

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