If all goes well, injury-plagued former heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez would like to make his comeback at UFC 226 in July during International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
That happens to be the same card that his long-time friend and training partner Daniel Cormier will be fighting for the title he himself once held against Stipe Miocic, and so Velasquez will be helping him prepare, while also simultaneously getting himself back in shape to compete again too after a year on the sidelines.
“He called me up, he told me that he had this opportunity,” Velasquez said on ‘The MMA Show’ this week. “I was just like, ‘Yes, we can do it.’ We can get ready together, that’s the best for us. He’s fighting on that card in July, I’m going to try to get on that, hopefully. I think that would be perfect and enough time for me to get on that card and me and Daniel can train together and get ready together because when we do that, that’s when we are the best.
“I think it’s a very good scenario, it’s perfect for Daniel, I think he can pull this off and s**t, I’m going to make it my priority to go out there and train with him so he does get that W. He will, he will get that W.”
When Cormier first revealed that he was moving up to heavyweight, Velasquez tweeted his support, while cryptically stating that, “once he wins, things could get interesting.”
Naturally, Ariel Helwani was eager to ask him exactly what he meant by that on the show.
“What did I mean by that? Things could get interesting, man. He’s at heavyweight, I’m at heavyweight. What am I gonna drop down? I don’t know. Things could get interesting, yes. We don’t know how things are going to play out. I think it’s cool what he’s doing, he’s going up in weight, but s*** he’s fought there before at heavyweight so he’s gonna do it again.”
Cormier himself had earlier joked that Velasquez could drop down to 205lbs, and it seems he’ actually not completely discounting that idea.
“If I had to do it, I could do it,” Velasquez claimed. “I think it would be hard, but it’s just the will of the person. If I really want to do something, I could do it. Again, things could get interesting, so we’re just going off of that and we’re just going to play it by ear. First things first, helping him get ready, me get ready, and then getting that job done in July, both of us.”
The alternative would be to stay put at heavyweight, despite the fact that his friend could end up blocking his own route to the title, but even if he DC did become champion, Velasquez did categorically state that he won’t fight him.
“Would I ever fight [Cormier]? No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t fight him. I think he feels the same way. We’re teammates, we’re friends, we’ve done a lot with each other.”
That being said, it doesn’t sound like Velasquez thinks it would be all that big of a deal if they did.
“I think it would be easy, me and him, just because we spar so much. S***, it would just be another day at the office.”
