Former UFC Champion Prepares for Pro Wrestling Debut
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is preparing to make his pro wrestling debut at TripleMania in Mexico City on August 3. The Mexican-American will team up with the iconic Psycho Clown, one of Mexico’s best known wrestlers, and All Elite Wrestling’s Cody Rhodes. The event is the biggest of the year for the AAA, Mexico’s most popular organisation.
With such a huge fan base in the country, Velasquez is expected to be a massive draw when he enters the ring, where he, Psycho Clown and Cody Rhodes will take on the terrible trio of El Taxano Jr., Taurus, and an as-yet-unnamed individual. While this is just his debut, Velasquez has long been a fan of pro wrestling, spending time at the WWE Performance Center last year, and this may be the first of many appearances inside the ring.
Velasquez has struggled with his fitness over the past few years, fighting only twice since losing his UFC heavyweight title against Fabrice Werdum in June 2015. Coincidentally, Velasquez’s pro wrestling debut will take place in Mexico City Arena, the same area where he lost his title to the Brazilian four years ago – a title that will contended by Velasquez’s team-mate Daniel Cormier when he meets former champion Stipe Miocic.
Cormier, who moved down to light heavyweight when he entered the UFC to avoid ever having to fight his team-mate. After winning and defending the light heavyweight title, Cormier finally stepped back up to heavyweight to meet champion Stipe Miocic, stopping him in the first round to become a two-weight world champion.
As you can see from the bonus.ca guide to the best UFC betting sites, Cormier is a slight favorite to defend his title – which may well end up being the last thing the 40-year old does in the UFC Octagon. The plan had been for Cormier to fight Brock Lesnar earlier this year before hanging up his gloves, only for the former WWE and UFC heavyweight champion to pull a late U-turn on his long-awaited return to mixed martial arts.
Despite talks of a third fight with current light heavyweight champion, and the only man to beat Cormier, Jon Jones – the veteran may well feel beating Miocic for a second time and bowing out as a champion is the best thing he can do. While getting revenge over Jones would be beyond sweet for Cormier, a third loss, potentially a brutal one, would be a sad way for such a legend to end his career.
Miocic, who defended the heavyweight title three times after knocking out Werdum in May 2016, has been holding out for an immediate rematch with Cormier ever since his defeat last year. The 36-year-old will finally get his chance at UFC 241, against a man he has insisted got lucky in their first meeting. Any doubt over Cormier’s win will be answered in the rematch, though, and it’s a fascinating fight in a number of ways.
