UFC
UFC Champ Cain Velasquez out longer than anticipated as more damage found during knee surgery
Oct 28, 2014 - 4:25:25 PM UFC Champ Cain Velasquez out longer than anticipated as more damage found during knee surgery

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Cain Velasquez underwent surgery this past week to repair a damaged ligament in his knee, but it turns out there was more damage done to the knee than expected.

That's the word from his head coach Javier Mendez, who said on Monday that there was more MCL damage than initially thought, and it will keep the UFC Heavyweight Champion on the shelf longer than anyone would have hoped.

"The surgery went well, but there was more damage than anticipated, which didn't make sense to me because he's so freaking tough," Mendez said in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. "If Cain says 'oww' it must be a lot worse than he's making it out to be, because that guy can take pain like I've never seen. So when it turned out that his MCL was worse, they put two anchors on it, it turns out he'll be out a little longer than anticipated."

"[Velasquez is] on crutches right now. Two weeks on crutches, and then he'll be on the knee brace for I believe six weeks. So, if you count all that, you can't figure out the numbers."

They're still targeting a "spring 2015" return date, but it seems up in the air at the moment.

Penick's Analysis: Well this sucks. Velasquez has been sidelined for more than a year already, and it could go into closer to two year territory at this point. Will he be able to fight by Memorial Day weekend? If not, will the Interim Title be put on the line before he returns, perhaps further delaying his return date? On top of that, what of his level when he does return? He's been out with a serious shoulder injury, he's now got to recover from another serious knee injury, and those issues may hold him back from being as good as he has been. It's just very far from positive right now.

[Cain Velasquez art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]