LAS VEGAS – Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez’s next octagon appearance will have to wait, if it ever happens again.
WWE officials announced Friday that Velasquez will be part of the professional wrestling organization’s “Crown Jewel” event on Oct. 31 at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Velasquez will square off against a familiar foe: Brock Lesnar, whom he defeated for the UFC title via first-round TKO back in October 2010.
“I know Brock is big. He’s the biggest. But he ain’t the baddest,” Velasquez said during a press conference at T-Mobile Arena. “I beat him once before in the UFC, and I’m ready to do it again.”
The foundation for a Velasquez-Lesnar storyline was put in motion by WWE a couple of weeks ago. Then last Friday, Velasquez made his first WWE appearance last week on the FOX debut of “Smackdown” and had a physical confrontation with Lesnar.
As first reported by MMA Junkie last week, Velasquez notified the UFC of his intention to withdraw from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency testing pool, effectively retiring from MMA. He made that move official – or as official as MMA retirements can get – on Friday and has signed a multi-year deal with WWE.
“As of right now, the chapter is closed on my MMA career, and I’m focusing on the task at hand with the WWE,” Velasquez said after the press conference. “I love this sport (pro wrestling). I’ve kind of rebirthed myself into reliving it and loving it again. I’m all in on doing this. I’m diving deep into this. This is what I’m doing for right now.”
Velasquez struggled to get his UFC career on track because of various injuries. In February, Velasquez had his first fight in two-and-a-half years and lost to Francis Ngannou by TKO in 26 seconds, suffering a knee injury in the process.
WWE officials also announced that current lineal heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury will wrestle against Braun Strowman at the “Crown Jewel” event in Saudi Arabia.
