Cain Velasquez

Velasquez began his mixed martial arts career right after college, joining American Kickboxing Academy. Velasquez is a brown belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo,[25] a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Leandro Viera, and an NCAA Division I Wrestler.[26]

Velasquez made his MMA debut on October 7, 2006, against Jesse Fujarczyk at Strikeforce: Tank vs. Buentello, he won by TKO in the first round. Velasquez faced then undefeated Jeremiah Constant at BodogFight: St. Petersburg, he won via TKO in the first round at the 4 minute mark.[27]

Velasquez made his UFC debut against Brad Morris at UFC 83 and won by TKO in the first round.

In his next fight, Velasquez defeated Jake O'Brien at UFC Fight Night 14 via TKO in round one.[28]

Velasquez then faced Denis Stojnić at UFC Fight Night 17 and the fight was stopped in round two with Velasquez earning the victory by TKO. Velasquez earned Knockout of the Night honors for his performance.[29]

Velasquez's next fight was at UFC 99 against former kickboxer and heavyweight contender Cheick Kongo. Velasquez was once again dominant, landing 251 strikes and winning the bout by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, and 30–27).[30]

His next opponent was expected to be Shane Carwin[31] with the winner likely challenging for the UFC Heavyweight Championship held by Brock Lesnar. However, that bout was scrapped[32] and Velasquez was instead told he would be fighting UFC newcomer Ben Rothwell at UFC 104.[33][34] He defeated Rothwell by second-round TKO.[35]

Velasquez faced former Pride Heavyweight Champion and former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira on February 20, 2010, at UFC 110.[36] Going into the fight, some commentators predicted that Nogueira would take the victory due to a supposed lack of striking power for Velasquez.[37] They were proven wrong when Velasquez defeated Nogueira via first-round KO, earning Knockout of the Night honors.[37]

With his victory over Nogueira, Velasquez earned a UFC Heavyweight Championship fight with then-champ Brock Lesnar at UFC 121. UFC brought back UFC Primetime to promote Lesnar vs. Velasquez.[38] Velasquez defeated Lesnar via TKO in the first round, earning Knockout of the Night honors.

Velasquez suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder during his fight with Lesnar and was expected to be sidelined for at least six to eight months.[39] Surgery on the shoulder was successful and Velasquez planned to return as early as Fall 2011.[40]

Velasquez was expected to make his first title defense against Junior dos Santos, with a target date of November 19, 2011, at UFC 139,[41] but the fight was later moved to November 12, 2011, to headline the first UFC on Fox 1 event.[42] Velasquez suffered his first loss, via KO (punches), at 1 minute and 4 seconds of the first round.[43] While not public information at the time, it was later revealed that Dos Santos already had a minor knee injury (a torn meniscus), and took an injection of cortisone into the knee before the fight, followed by information revealing that Velasquez had re-injured his rotator cuff approximately a week before the fight. Junior dos Santos would undergo knee surgery following the fight.[44]

Velasquez was originally set to fight Frank Mir on May 26, 2012, at UFC 146.[45] However, Mir was moved up to face Junior dos Santos after Alistair Overeem was suspended for elevated testosterone levels. Velasquez instead faced Antônio Silva.[46] Velasquez defeated Silva via first-round TKO, in a fight that saw Silva bleed profusely from his forehead. After the fight, Dana White strongly hinted that Velasquez would be the next fighter to challenge for the UFC Heavyweight Championship. It is widely thought that the reason White made the decision to have the rematch with Dos Santos at such an unexpected time, was because both fighters were injured going into their first fight.[47]

A rematch was expected with Junior dos Santos on September 22, 2012, at UFC 152.[48] However, the date for the rematch had been set to December 29 was later set for UFC 155.[49] In the rematch, Velasquez defeated Dos Santos in a dominating performance[50] via unanimous decision (50–45, 50–43, and 50–44) to regain the UFC heavyweight title.[51][52] Velasquez became the first fighter in UFC history to post triple digits in significant strikes landed and double digits in takedowns landed in a single fight, landing 111 significant strikes and eleven takedowns in his second fight against Dos Santos.[53]

In his first title defense Velasquez defeated Antônio Silva in a rematch on May 25, 2013, at UFC 160.[54] He defeated him via TKO (punches) at 1:21 seconds into the first round.

A rubber match with Junior dos Santos took place at UFC 166 on October 19, 2013, in Houston, Texas.[55] Velasquez defended his title for a second time again defeating dos Santos in a mostly one-sided affair ending in TKO at 3:09 of the fifth round.

On April 29, 2014, the UFC selected Velasquez and Fabrício Werdum as coaches for the inaugural installment of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America, with the two expected to face each other on November 15, 2014, at UFC 180.[56][57] However, on October 21, 2014, Velasquez pulled out of the bout due to a torn meniscus and sprained MCL in his right knee, and was replaced by Mark Hunt.[58] On October 23, 2014, Velasquez underwent successful surgery to repair his torn meniscus.[59]

A rescheduled bout with UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Fabrício Werdum took place on June 13, 2015, at UFC 188.[60] In a back-and-forth affair, Velasquez lost the fight via guillotine choke submission in the third round.[61] Velasquez would later admit that he had not adequately prepared for the fight, held in Mexico City which sits at an altitude of 7,300 feet, as he had only moved his camp to elevation two weeks before the day of the card. In contrast, Werdum had spent more than a month in Mexico City to acclimate to the higher altitude.[62]

A rematch with Werdum was expected to take place on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82 until both fighters backed out citing injuries.[63]

Velasquez next faced Travis Browne on July 9, 2016, at UFC 200.[64] He won the fight via TKO in the closing seconds of the first round.[65]

The rematch against Werdum was rescheduled and expected to take place on December 30, 2016, at UFC 207.[66] However the Nevada State Athletic Commission failed to approve Velasquez to fight, determining after physical examinations and interviews that he was unfit to compete due to bone spurs on his back.[67]

As the first fight of his new, four-fight contract Velasquez headlined UFC's inaugural event on ESPN, UFC on ESPN 1 against Francis Ngannou on February 17, 2019.[68][69] He lost the fight via knockout in the first round.[70]

On October 4, 2019, after Velasquez's first appearance for the WWE, it was revealed that Velasquez will be withdrawing from the USADA testing pool to focus on his professional wrestling career.[71] Subsequently, Velasquez announced his retirement from MMA on October 11, 2019.[72]

Velasquez has been a fan of professional wrestling since he was young. On July 19, 2018, it was reported that he trained in the WWE Performance Center under head coach Norman Smiley and later attended Diamond Dallas Page's yoga session. He had attended an NXT event the previous night.[76]

In March 2019, Velasquez signed a multi-match agreement with Mexican professional wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide as a heavyweight competitor. Velasquez made his debut for the promotion at Triplemanía XXVII in trios match, teaming with Cody Rhodes and Psycho Clown to face Texano Jr, Taurus, and Killer Kross.[77] Velasquez's debut surprised many fans, as he donned a luchador mask through the whole match and displayed many athletic moves, such as using a hurricanrana. Velasquez picked up the victory for his team by submitting Texano Jr. with a Kimura lock. Velasquez's in-ring debut received positive reviews by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer and many other professional wrestling journalists, as well as other professional wrestlers and Velasquez's American Kickboxing Academy teammate Daniel Cormier.[78] Velasquez competed in his second and final AAA match at Lucha Invades NY, where he teamed with Brian Cage and Psycho Clown to defeat Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr., and Taurus.[79]

On October 4, 2019, on the first episode of SmackDown on Fox, which was also the show's 20th Anniversary, Velasquez made his WWE debut, accompanied by Rey Mysterio, coming out to confront and eventually attack Brock Lesnar after his WWE Championship victory as a measure of revenge for Lesnar attacking Mysterio and his son, Dominick, earlier in the week. Velasquez took Lesnar down and pummeled him with punches before Lesnar escaped the ring and retreated.[80] Velasquez then was scheduled to face Lesnar at Crown Jewel for the WWE Championship on October 31, which Velasquez lost.[81] Following the match, Lesnar attacked Velasquez with a steel chair and delivered an F-5 onto another steel chair, before Mysterio intervened and saved him.[82] In January 2020, WWE had planned to use Velasquez at their Royal Rumble pay-per-view event, but he suffered an injury and the idea was scrapped. On April 28, 2020, Velasquez was released from his WWE contract due to budget cuts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.[83]