Cain Velasquez Retires From UFC, Signs Lucrative Multi-Year WWE Deal
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez’s days of competing in mixed martial arts (MMA) seem to have come to an end.
According to a report from ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Velasquez has signed a very lucrative, multi-year deal with the WWE, and informed the UFC of his retirement. Velasquez has also been removed from the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) drug testing pool. He was also removed from the heavyweight rankings in the latest edition released following UFC 243 this past weekend.
WWE is expected to announce Velasquez’s signing at a news conference in Las Vegas from the T-Mobile Arena today. This news comes just a week after Velasquez made his shock WWE debut last week on Friday Night SmackDown’s FOX debut. He attacked former UFC opponent Brock Lesnar, avenging Lesnar’s attack on Rey Mysterio.
Now, Velasquez and Lesnar are to go head-to-head in the WWE ring from WWE’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia on October 31. The pair headlined UFC 121, where Velasquez finished Lesnar in the first round to win the UFC heavyweight championship. A rematch never came to fruition inside the Octagon, but it looks like the pair will now run things back inside the wrestling ring, where Lensar will likely even the odds.
What do you think about Velasquez retiring from the UFC to sign with WWE?
