Another major UFC title fight is no longer taking place because of an injury.
Yesterday, the UFC has announced that Cain Velasquez was forced to withdraw from his title defence at UFC 180 against Fabricio Werdum after suffering a right knee injury. The promotion scrambled to find a replacement and has replaced the Mexican-American fighter with Mark Hunt who will now fight Werdum for an interim heavyweight title on November 15.
“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.”
For Werdum, it was never about who he was facing, it was about winning the title.
“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,” said Werdum.
Mark Hunt said that when he was offered the chance to compete for the title after his walk-off win against Roy Nelson, it was a no-brainer.
“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.
With the change, here’s the revised UFC 180 card.
Fabricio Werdum vs. Mark Hunt
Jake Ellenberger vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Dennis Bermudez vs. Ricardo Lamas
Joe Lauzon vs. Diego Sanchez
Jessica Eye vs. Leslie Smith
Edgar Garcia vs. Hector Urbina
Chris Heatherly vs. Augusto Montano
TBA vs. TBA (TUF: Latin America featherweight final)
TBA vs. TBA (TUF: Latin America bantamweight final)
