On Wednesday, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez wrote a lengthy Facebook post in which he explained the hectic series of events that led to his abrupt removal from a rematch with Fabricio Werdum at UFC 207 and what he did to try to stay on the card.
According to Velasquez, the Nevada State Athletic Commission's decision to revoke his competition license stemmed from a recent interview he did with ESPN's Brett Okamoto. Velasquez told Okamoto that he is due for back surgery on Jan. 4, just five days after his next fight, which prompted the NSAC to request x-rays and a full physical in the days following the interview.
On Dec. 24, Velasquez held a conference call with the NSAC in which his personal physician confirmed that Velasquez was healthy enough to fight. Just 10 minutes after that call, Velasquez says he found out on Twitter that he was off of UFC 207 and was subsequently contacted by the commission, who informed him that his license had been revoked.
Velasquez and his team called for an emergency hearing with the NSAC and the fighter offered to fly to Las Vegas to meet with doctors of the commission's choosing, but he was told that it was standing by its decision to keep him off the card.
"As you can see, I firmly believe that my team and I did everything within our power to get me to UFC 207," Velasquez wrote. "Finally, I want to say that perhaps I was too transparent in my interview but that is who I am and do not intend to edit myself and especially not when my doctors and I know for a fact that I'm ready to fight.
"I will be the first to say when I know I can't fight due to injury as my long-term health is my number one priority. Let me be clear, MMA training is tough work and every fighter has had to enter the Octagon with aches and pains as well as exhaustion. This is the game."
Despite the disappointing news, Velasquez thanked the NSAC for their professionalism and vowed to return to training "a few short weeks" after his surgery.
Velasquez most recently fought at UFC 200, defeating Travis Browne by first-round TKO. It was his first fight since losing the UFC heavyweight title to Werdum at UFC 188 in June 2015.
