The UFC injury woes continue as UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been removed from the UFC 180 main event with an injured knee.
News broke this evening of the injury, but the event will still see a UFC Heavyweight title fight, as Velasquez will be replaced by PRIDE FC veteran and fan favorite Mark Hunt. He’ll be taking on the original challenger Fabricio Werdum with the winner being named interim UFC Heavyweight champion.
“I’m so unbelievably disappointed that this happened,” Velasquez said in a statement released by the UFC. “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.”
Velasquez was key to this event not only as the Heavyweight champion, but because the company was breaking in to Mexico for the first time. The event was heavily promoted on the back of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America series, in which he and Werdum served as coaches.
Velasquez has faced a number of injury woes over the past several years and missed over a year of action three times in his UFC career. He’s not defended the heavyweight title since his dominant win over Junior dos Santos in 2013, and will now be sidelined well into 2015.
Hunt commented on the situation, saying “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.”
Fabricio Wedrum says that he was unfazed by the change in opponent, only wanting the UFC Heavyweight title.
“I’m ready for whatever comes,” said Werdum. “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 takes place November 15 from the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City. The event will feature the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, as well as a co-main event featuring Kelvin Gastelum vs. Jake Ellenberger.
