The UFC have this morning announced that heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (13-1) has suffered an injury to his right knee and has been forced o withdraw from his upcoming fight with Brazilian Fabricio Werdum (18-5-1) at UFC 180.
The American Kickboxing Academy heavyweight who hasn’t competed in over a year since a 5th round TKO victory of Junior dos Santos at UFC 166 suffered the injury during a training session and as a result fan favorite Mark “The Super Samoan” Hunt (10-8-1) has stepped in to face Werdum for the interim UFC heavyweight title.
“I’m so unbelievably disappointed that this happened,” Velasquez said. “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.”
Dispite the disappointing news Werdum reminded focus at the task at hand despite the late change of opponent.
“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”.
UFC 180 go down on November 15th at the Arena Mexico City, and MMA Plus will bring you all the latest news on the event as we get it.
