'Betrayed' Cain Velasquez tries to explain UFC on FOX knee injury video

Sakara=Excitement · 12-28-2012, 09:51 AM

'Betrayed' Cain Velasquez tries to explain UFC on FOX knee injury video - MMAmania.com

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With less than two weeks until UFC 155, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec, 29, 2012, never-before-seen training footage of Cain Velasquez mysteriously surfaced, showing the then Heavyweight champion of the word sustaining a significant knee injury.

Mysterious, clearly, because of the circumstances -- Velasquez is currently readying to rematch Junior dos Santos, one year after "Cigano" finished him in the main event of the first-ever UFC on Fox show in just 64 seconds. Even before "Brown Pride" hit the canvas that fateful night in Anaheim, Calif., speculation swirled that he was limping into the championship clash on a bum wheel.

He suited up regardless and never confirmed or denied the injury reports. And when he was wiped out with a quickness, Velasquez never made any excuses or offered up injury-related reasons for his high-profile, first-ever mixed martial arts (MMA) loss.

So, when the aforementioned video, which has since been made "private," conveniently popped up in the promotional push prior to UFC 155, it turned quite a few heads. Among them, it seems, was Velasquez's, who recently revealed how it all went down and how he is none to happy.

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"There were a couple of film crews in their filming before the fight," Velasquez told MMAFighting.com. "They've had [the footage] in their possession, so they decided to [release it] before this fight. I have no idea why. It's not cool. Should have let me know first and see if it was okay with me to do that. Makes it seem like I'm crying about what happened before that fight. That's just not me."

As for a possible motive, reporter Ariel Helwani asked if it was possibly done because Velasquez had switched sponsors. One of the Dethrone "Royalty" fighters, Velasquez has since switched sweaters and is now backed by Affliction.

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"I'm good friends with the owner of Dethrone still -- we have still done stuff after I signed with Affliction," he said. "I have no idea.... Yeah, [I felt betrayed by the person who did send it out]. And I let him know that."

It's crystal clear now that Velasquez was injured in his first fight with the Brazilian bomber. The severity of that injury is unclear because Velasquez was able to compete six months later at UFC 146 and looked like an absolute savage destroying Antonio Silva. And at this point it probably doesn't matter much because Velasquez made the decision to fight that night and is apparently more than willing to deal with the consequences.

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"Never know [if I would have pulled out of the fight if it wasn't a FOX main event]. Being a fighter, you are always confident in what you have and what you have done. So when the opportunity comes you want to go out there and fight."

Velasquez unequivocally confirmed that he is 100 percent healthy for his rematch with dos Santos in "Sin City." But, even if he wasn't, he doesn't seem to be the type to admit it before, during or after the dust settles.

Kimbo> Rampage · 12-28-2012, 01:14 PM

If only more people read these forums and got the wisdom that spews from some of the members mouth... They would realize that a knee injury has no impact on a fight and is just brought up as an excuse...

All fighters fight with problems... 1 injury=any other injury...

Fedorlei Gomipierre · 12-28-2012, 01:17 PM

Considering how long the fight went, unless Cain's knee was directly attached to his head, I think the fight would've warranted the same result.

Sniggles · 12-28-2012, 01:21 PM

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Originally Posted by rampage9712

If only more people read these forums and got the wisdom that spews from some of the members mouth... They would realize that a knee injury has no impact on a fight and is just brought up as an excuse...

All fighters fight with problems... 1 injury=any other injury...

That is fucking ridiculous.

A knee injury affects footwork and makes an individual an easier target. It will not change the outcome of every fight but it will change a fighter's mentality coming into the fight which is huge.

The Donosaur · 12-28-2012, 01:24 PM

I'm not gonna make excuses for the guy. Injured or not he accepted the fight, and he lost, but a knee injury can really affect a persons style and game plan. No offense man, but a knee doesn't have to be attached to a head directly for it to mess with his speed, and foot work. When those things are off a person is easier to hit.

dbader08 · 12-28-2012, 01:32 PM

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Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre

Considering how long the fight went, unless Cain's knee was directly attached to his head, I think the fight would've warranted the same result.

Having a knee injury could effect you in alot of way's I'm sure.

Here it could have affected his training before the fight, probably limited his takedown ability and his ability to be light on his feet.

3 things you really need to have going good for you if your a wrestler that is going to beat JDS.

But the main reason he lost is because he stepped in with a weak jab (if you could even call it that) when JDS was loading up for a huge punch...not a very smart move by Cain.

I'm not going to say whether or not I think Cain would have won or not because the fight was so short and there wasn't much to take from it but the injury was compounded with the long layoff he already had to go through. It definitely seems like he's in a better spot this time around, unless he mysteriously injures himself going into the fight and nobody knows about it...

It's going to be interesting to see if Cain tries to drive and drive and drive for takedowns this time around. Like against Kongo, even when Kongo would do a good job at defending, it was only a matter of time because Cain was going to stay on him and find a way to bring him to the mat and dominate him. He does very good at mixing in all his td techniques, and his cardio is just so damn good that when you bend an inch he makes it a point to push you even harder. I don't see many guys who can stop Cain from doing this if he can just keep the distance closed enough.

But JDS is a beast that can put anybody out in the first 2 rounds...but I'll take a hungry Cain in this spot...I say Cain lasts early and wins via 3rd rd tko...

Sniggles · 12-28-2012, 01:34 PM

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Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre

Considering how long the fight went, unless Cain's knee was directly attached to his head, I think the fight would've warranted the same result.

Opinion rather than fact. Noone knows or will ever know. Not even this weekend's fight would prove what might have happened had something else not happened.

1inthechamber · 12-28-2012, 02:27 PM

Idk why everybody is getting caught up in old shit. The rematch is tomorrow, fuck the rest. Let's just hope none are suffering from any serious injuries this time