Less than 2 weeks out, UFC 196 has a new main event.
Dana White broke the news earlier that Cain Velasquez suffered a back injury and is forced to bow out of his heavyweight title match against Fabricio Werdum.
The fight was slated to take place Feb. 6th and was a rematch of their title unification bout at UFC 188, which Werdum won. Taking the “next man up” mentality from football, in steps Stipe Miocic as a replacement.
Put this in the ‘what else is new’ category
Cain has a long history of injuries in his fight career, so this is not entirely shocking.
He’s a guy that hasn’t competed twice in the past three years because of the injury bug-torn rotator cuff, torn meniscus, sciatic nerve in his back. He has lost a lot of money – millions of dollars – because of his body.
In a heavyweight division already lacking in star power and depth, this is the last thing the UFC needs. With no fighter in the heavyweight top-10 under the age of 30, the division desperately needs Jon Jones. Talk about bad timing.
More on UFC 196 and the state of the UFC to come!
