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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Fabricio Werdum was supposed to face Cain Velasquez for the UFC Heavyweight Championship last weekend at UFC 180 in Mexico City. Instead, Werdum defeated Mark Hunt for an Interim Title after Velasquez was forced out with a serious knee injury.
That Werdum-Velasquez fight is the planned next fight for both, and UFC President Dana White said on Monday the fight "makes sense" for a return to Mexico next year.
During the UFC's "The Time is Now" press conference in Las Vegas, White suggested the fight could take place on the UFC's June 13 pay-per-view, UFC 188, and though a location isn't set for that yet, it could be one of what White said would be two or three events in Mexico next year.
It's dependent on Velasquez being healthy enough to return by June from knee surgery, but White feels confident the Champ will be healthy by then.
Penick's Analysis: If Velasquez isn't able to fight by June, the UFC will have to move on without him as Champion, but it should hopefully not come to that. June in Mexico City is a sensible timetable for the organization to look at, giving Velasquez more time to heal up from the surgery and to make sure he can get himself back to the cage. Though Werdum may technically be able to fight before then, he's likely alright with waiting for the Velasquez fight a few extra months in order to unify the titles. There's going to be continued questions about how effective Velasquez can be 19 to 20 months after his last fight, but that's something he can tackle when the time comes, and whether he's ever the same again or not, the important thing now is just being healthy enough to even step in the cage.
[Cain Velasquez art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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