UFC was forced to move its UFC 196 pay-per-view card to being free on FS1, with Cain Velasquez pulling out of his title fight against Fabrício Werdum due to a back injury.
The UFC brass did their best to save the 196 event by replacing Velasquez with Stipe Miocic, with the heavyweight belt still on the line.
The next day Werdum also pulled out, due to a foot injury.
Some were upset by this, however it’s his right to not take this fight. Why should he risk his legacy on a short-notice fight against a dangerous opponent, while injured?
This is a disastrous situation for the UFC, likely to cost them millions of dollars.
This causes me to speculate as to whether Velasquez will receive another title shot when healthy. As someone who has been watching UFC’s every move for the past 13 years, there is basically zero chance of Velasquez getting that immediate shot.
UFC doesn’t like to lose money because of fighters – why should they? they have millions of dollars invested into some of these cards – and history shows when the UFC does lose out, the fighters feel the ramifications.
Look how Dana White tried to publicly destroy Jon Jones when they had to cancel UFC 151 because Jones wouldn’t accept a fight with Chael Sonnen on nine days’ notice. White publicly said it was a disgrace, and even attacked Jones’ camp, saying Greg Jackson – Jones’ head coach – is a sport killer.
Jose Aldo is another great example. Aldo has pulled out of five title fights with the UFC, and while White has every right to be upset, to publicly humiliate Aldo is wrong.
When Aldo pulled out of the Conor McGregor fight at UFC 189 due to a rib injury, the UFC actually released photos of Aldo’s ribs to the media, suggesting he wasn’t really injured, claiming UFC doctors said he could fight.
Aldo was forced to release medical statements contradicting these claim. White then said at a Q&A that the picture Aldo released was fake, and that it was from a previous rib injury.
Who are fans going to side with in these fake injury allegations – Aldo, who can’t even speak English, or smooth-talking White and Conor McGregor, who have an answer for everything? Well played UFC on ruining Jose Aldo’s image.
So how will the UFC deal with Cain Velasquez?
Velasquez is the last person Dana White wants to become the heavyweight champion, because he hasn’t fought more than two times in a calendar year for his entire career. In the last five years, Velasquez averaged 1.2 fights per year.
He holds wins over only two people in the last five years – Junior Dos Santos and Antonio Silva, neither of whom look impressive in the new USADA era of fighting.
Velasquez’s last two PPV sales were 300,000 with Werdum, and 330,000 with Dos Santos for their trilogy fight, which shows he’s not a big needle-mover for the company.
Is Velasquez a great fighter? Absolutely. But going by UFC’s history with these kinds of fighters and the numbers he’s bringing to the table, there is zero chance of an immediate title fight for Velasquez when he’s healthy.
Reports are already emerging of Werdum versus Miocic for Memorial Day weekend. I expect Alistair Overeem to get a shot at the winner.
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