Cain Velasquez would have retired if new UFC deal wasn’t logical
When it comes to the most talented heavyweights to ever compete, a discussion cannot be had without the mention of former two-time UFC champion Cain Velasquez.
Unfortunately for Velasquez and fans alike, the latter portion of his career has been plagued by injuries as he’s only fought twice since 2013
Having had his last fight in July 2016 at UFC 200 against Travis Browne, the time came for Velasquez to set up a new UFC contract going into his return bout with Francis Ngannou at UFC Phoenix this Sunday.
Had the new deal not made sense, the long-awaited Velasquez return likely would have never come.
“It all had to make sense as well for me to come back,” Velasquez said at a media day Tuesday (via MMA Fighting). “Again, it takes a lot out of me from a training aspect. But I love it. I love what I do, I love to go out there and train. I love to train with high intensity. I’m so competitive. I’m so competitive in just my daily life, that’s just how I am. Even when I go in to train, I try to back off a little bit. It’s just the competitiveness in me. To go out there and to win, even in small things. It’s good and bad, but again when everything goes right then you get the best Cain out there.
“It’s something that I’m happy with. Something that for me and my family makes sense. Now that we got all that squared away and I took the time to get everything right, I’m ready.”
Velasquez would reiterate that he would have been just fine ending his career where it would have left off and it was something he had discussed with his family.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 2/12/2019
