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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez has been out of action so far this year rehabbing an injury to his shoulder suffered in his fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 last October. Though his return to action isn't coming real soon, UFC President Dana White this week said they've got a target month they're hoping to get the Champ back in.
"Cain's good. He's coming along great. He's actually going to be here for this fight," White said this week (comments transcribed by MMAWeekly.com). "I think we were talking about him in October."
That would give the winner of June's UFC 131 main event between Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos between three and four months to prepare for their title fight, which White says could be an option for the UFC next stadium show after UFC 129.
"I think stadium shows are going to be one off shows," White said. "Every time there's a huge, great fight, I think GSP vs. Anderson Silva if that fight happened, would be a stadium show. Depending on who wins out of Dos Santos and Lesnar against our heavyweight champion, could be a big fight, so who knows."
Penick's Analysis: I think the unique circumstances of the Rogers Centre show - being the first stadium event, the UFC's first time in Toronto - have helped the event be a much bigger local attraction to sell out such a large number of tickets. But the Jake Shields-Georges St. Pierre fight isn't nearly as big as GSP vs. Silva would be or even a rematch between Lesnar and Velasquez if Lesnar impressively beat Junior Dos Santos. So I see the stadium experience being a much rarer occurrence, and the UFC will want a major feel to whatever fight is headlining the next one.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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