UFC 188 News & Notes: Cain Velasquez To Face Fabricio Werdum for Heavyweight Title
Cain Velasquez is finally going to face Fabricio Werdum on UFC 188 in Mexico, to decide once and for all who deserves to be called the UFC Heavyweight Champion.
The two were supposed to fight each other at the UFC 180 event held in Mexico in 2014, but Velasquez was pulled out of the match due to a knee injury. Werdum faced Mark Hunt instead for the interim UFC Heavyweight Champion title.
Werdum won via TKO in the second round against Hunt to take home the belt.
But it wasn't always that easy for him to win. While he has always dominated most of his matches, the 37-year-old was terminated by the UFC after he lost to Junior dos Santos on the first round of their match at the UFC 90, reported ESPN.
Since his return in 2011, he has won all of his six matches with UFC that include two submission victories from former PRIDE FC Heavyweight Champions Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
His current record stands at 19 wins, 5 losses and 1 draw, noted Fox Sports.
While Werdum is readily one of the best fighters right now, Velasquez is not the UFC Heavyweight Champion for nothing.
The 32-year-old American MMA fighter has a record of 13 wins with just 1 loss.
He is known for his "breakneck pace and pressure," which has worked for him in most of his matches.
However, Velasquez is coming from perhaps the longest lay-off he's ever had, around 602 days, and while he is known to bounce back easily, it remains to be seen if he has fully recovered and back to his pre-injured self and top form.
He has also stayed away from Mexico unlike Werdum, which could have an effect on his body condition in the game as he adjusts to the high altitude of the place, wrote another report on Fox Sports.
It was fortunate that his trainer, Javier Mendez, has coaxed him to fly to the country early to prepare and acclimatize for the game.
The Heavyweight Champion is excited to fight again and more so that it's happening in the country where his father was from.
"It sucks that I couldn't make the first one," he told MMA Fighting. "I always, when asked about the place I wanted to fight, it was always Mexico City. I'm happy I'm getting the opportunity to fight there again."
He also added that he's not taking the bout against Werdum easily and has acknowledged that the fighter is "dangerous."
Meanwhile, Mendez is confident he could easily overpower the interim champion.
"Werdum's not going to be able to handle the intensity," said Mendez. "He's not going to be able to handle the cardio. His best chance is a knockout or a submission."
UFC 188 will be held on Saturday, June 13. Details on how to watch the match can be found on UFC's official website.
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