It was announced moments ago by the UFC that heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is out of his scheduled title defense against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 180 on Nov. 15 in Mexico City. Werdum will now face off against Mark Hunt for the interim heavyweight championship.
The UFC confirmed to Sporting News that Velasquez suffered a right knee injury in training camp. The champion was incredibly disappointed that he had to bow out of the fight in his home country.
“I’m so unbelievably disappointed that this happened,” Velasquez said in a press release. “To say I was looking forward to fighting in Mexico for the first time is an understatement. I wanted to fight on that card so bad. Looks like it wasn’t meant to be and it’s not going to happen. I’m going to get my [right] knee fixed and get back to training as soon as I can. I’m sorry to the fans in Mexico who were expecting this fight, and I hope to be able to come down and still be a part of this historic event.”
Werdum is focused and ready to fight for the belt regardless of who the opponent is at UFC 180.
“I’m ready for whatever comes. I have been training in Mexico for nearly two months and accept the challenge that is presented to me. I’ll continue to prepare and will arrive ready to fight on behalf of all my Latin American fans,” Werdum said.
Hunt, who defeated Roy Nelson last month at UFC Fight Night 52 said he is blessed for the opportunity to fight for the belt and is jumping on a plane to Mexico tomorrow to get prepared for the fight.
“I feel blessed to have this opportunity to fight for another world title. This is something that doesn’t happen often to people. First K1 and now UFC – how can I say no, even though it’s on short notice? I’m dropping everything and flying to Mexico tomorrow so I can best prepare myself for this fight. I have to get into shape and acclimatize to that environment, which is really important. There’s nothing to lose when you’re competing against the best at the top level,” Hunt said.
Velasquez hasn’t competed since UFC 166 in October 2013 when he defeated Junior Dos Santos to retain the heavyweight title. During the fight, Velasquez hurt his shoulder and had to have surgery.
Werdum last competed in April defeating Travis Browne at UFC on Fox 11 in April.
Steven Muehlhausen is an experienced MMA writer and contributor for Sporting News. Find him on Twitter @SMuehlhausenMMA.
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