Cain Velasquez out, Mark Hunt-Fabricio Werdum set for interim title at UFC 180
UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (13-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) is injured and unable to fight Fabricio Werdum (18-5-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) at UFC 180, a UFC official today confirmed to MMAjunkie.
Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole first reported that the champ injured his knee and Mark Hunt (10-8-1 MMA, 5-2-1 UFC) has stepped in to fight Werdum for the interim title at the pay-per-view event in Mexico City. UFC brass subsequently made an official announcement.
A source close to Velasquez’s camp also confirmed the injury and said the fighter injured his right meniscus. Velasquez was benched for several months in 2012 after injuring his knee prior to a TKO loss to Junior Dos Santos at UFC on FOX 1.
UFC 180 takes place Nov. 15 at Arena Mexico. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. Velasquez, as a Mexican-American champion, was to be the long-talked about major draw for the UFC for its first event in Mexico.
Hunt, who’s ranked No. 4 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings, replaces No. 1 Velasquez and meets No. 3 Werdum.
For Hunt, Velasquez’s withdrawal is an improbable turn of events. The 40-year-old former kickboxer went on a four-fight win streak that put him on the radar for a title shot, only to be knocked out by Dos Santos in a title eliminator.
Hunt went on to wage a draw and “Fight of the Year†candidate with Antonio Silva before becoming the first in the UFC to knock out Roy Nelson in a September fight.
Meanwhile, luck continues to elude Velasquez, who’s sat out most of 2014 while recovering from a torn labrum he suffered in a third fight with Dos Santos, which he won via fifth-round TKO at UFC 166. The champion suffered a torn rotator cuff in his title-winning victory over Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 and was sidelined for over a year.
The news presents the latest of injury withdrawal setbacks for the UFC, which mounted a Spanish-language version of “The Ultimate Fighter†featuring Velasquez and Werdum as opposing coaches. The promotion booked the fight after Werdum outpointed Travis Browne in April.
With the change, the latest UFC 180 card now includes:
Mark Hunt vs. Fabricio Werdum – for interim heavyweight title
Jake Ellenberger vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Joe Lauzon vs. Diego Sanchez
Dennis Bermudez vs. Ricardo Lamas
Marcus Brimage vs. Erik Perez
Edgar Garcia vs. Hector Urbina
Jessica Eye vs. Leslie Smith
Chris Heatherly vs. Augusto Montano
opponent TBA vs. opponent TBA – “TUF: Latin America†featherweight final
opponent TBA vs. opponent TBA – “TUF: Latin America†bantamweight final
