Cain Velasquez: Former UFC Champion Recalls Getting Mauled in the Gym “He was insane”

Former UFC champion Luke Rockhold has taken a trip down memory lane to when he used to train with Cain Velasquez.

As we know, Cain Velasquez was an absolute beast inside the cage. He was a former UFC heavyweight champion himself, and in the eyes of many, he is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time – especially during his prime. Of course, his career didn’t quite pan out as many had expected.

Despite that, and despite the controversies he’s been involved in ever since, Cain Velasquez is still a beloved member of the mixed martial arts community by many. Of course, that also goes for many of his former teammates, with one example being Luke Rockhold.

During a recent interview, Rockhold spoke candidly about how difficult Velasquez was to spar against in the past.

Luke Rockhold recalls training with Cain Velasquez

“Cain was not fun. Cain—Cain was like I had to have Javier put a [ _ ] leash on Cain, just ready to pull that [ _ ], because, you know, I would get to him a little bit in the first round. But his size and his ferocity—I mean, he just had wrestling, striking, jiu-jitsu, he had everything.

“Where DC had wrestling, you know, I could play a longer game and get off on kicks and strikes. You know, he wasn’t such a… you know, you know. Then, then he’d take me down, and like, he couldn’t do all that much. I’d be able to get back up, and we’d have very competitive sparring.

“Cain was like [ _ ]. He’s—he’s bigger, and he’s just everything. At the time, when Cain—there was nobody that could touch Cain. I mean, he was [ _ ] insane.”

Cain Velasquez did some wonderful things for the heavyweight division, and you have to wonder what kind of lasting impact he’ll have in years to come.