Cain Velasquez was a special fighter.
The former UFC Heavyweight champion captured the belt twice and defended it on two separate occasions, but his resume alone doesn’t explain his dominance. At his peak, Velasquez was a terrifying force of nature, a mauler who could savage opponents on the ground or lump them up standing. More than anything else, his ability to work relentlessly separated him from the Heavyweight pack. “Cardio Cain” would routinely drown his opponents with output (and occasionally
their own blood).
Unfortunately, Velasquez’s time at the top was short. He retired in February 2019 after a knockout loss to Francis Ngannou with a professional record of just 14-3 overall. In the latter stages of his career, Velasquez really struggled with injuries, which noticeably took away from his previous athleticism and explosiveness.
Through the ups-and-downs, Daniel Cormier was there with Velasquez, training with the champion at American Kickboxing Academy. In fact, Velasquez’s status as champion was the reason Cormier dropped to Light Heavyweight in the first place. Speaking about Velasquez with Aljamain Sterling, “DC” explained there was nobody better than Velasquez before trainers broke him down and caused numerous injuries.
“The best. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Cormier began. “I still today have not seen anything like it. The training, the skill set, the ability — he really could do it all. If he didn’t have all those injuries, he would be by far the greatest heavyweight of all time. No one could have beaten him.
“He was one of those kids that had nothing. He had so little that when he would get mixed up with people, no matter what they told him to do, he would do. If the strength coach told him to leg press 800 pounds, he did it! He just did everything, he was a monster. He just worked and worked and worked, and he worked himself into injury after injury.”
Since walking away from competition in 2019, Velasquez has remained an active figure in the sport through coaching. Unfortunately, Velasquez was arrested following the 2022 shooting of accused child molester Harry Goularte and ultimately sentenced to five years in prison for attempted murder. Based on the terms of his sentencing, Velasquez could be eligible for parole in March 2026.
