Cain Velasquez may not be retired from MMA after all
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (14-3) announced his retirement from professional mixed martial arts competition in October 2019.
The two-time champion transitioned to professional wrestling, competing on the smaller circuit before then appearing in Saudi Arabia at WWE Crown Jewel against fellow former UFC champ Brock Lesnar. Velasquez would lose the contest and his debut with the promotion, allowing Lesnar to get revenge for his 2010, UFC 121 loss. The two are now tied at a win a piece, Velasquez with the MMA win, Lesnar with the pro wrestling win.
Velasquez made the decision to leave MMA following a first round loss to Francis N’gannou in February. With the retirement announcement, Velasquez also left the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing pool.
But now it appears that Velasquez may not entirely be sold on his decision to leave the sport good.
“Who’s to say I’m finished with the UFC?”, when asked about his future by Sportsmail during WWE’s promotion for their move to BT Sport in the U.K.
“I’m doing this WWE right now but I’m still training,” the 37-year old Velasquez said.
He continued to talk about the loss to N’gannou. “There’s no regrets. Obviously the outcome wasn’t what I wanted it to be but that’s what happens. I’ve been in that sport long enough to know that not everything goes your way. You can train as hard as you can and be as committed as you can but that night was not my night. I’m still very salty, still very upset about what happened in that fight. That’s just me as a competitor… I obviously want to win them all.”
Velasquez made his pro MMA debut with Strikeforce in 2006. He did not suffer defeat until 2011 when he lost the UFC heavyweight title to Junior Dos Santos in the main event of UFC on FOX 1.
