A recent rumor suggested that UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez may have been set to headline the promotion’s first ever event in Mexico early next year, but Dana White says it’s not true, and besides, it looks as if he may be facing shoulder surgery anyway.
Velasquez’s left shoulder was hurt during his recent victory over Junior Dos Santos at UFC 166 last month and he’s currently undergoing two MRI scans to establish whether he will required surgery or if it just requires rehabilitation.
His team are hopeful that it’s not too serious, but it’s definitely a concern given that Velasquez has already had problems with his right shoulder in the past which required surgery and kept him out of action for over a year after his fight with Brock Lesnar back in 2010 and also troubled him leading into his first fight with JDS.
As for the rumored bout in Mexico, which according to Mexican site was said to be against Brazil’s Fabricio Werdum, White says that the truth is that no-one has actually been offered that fight yet.
While he doesn’t flat-out deny that they had been eyeing up a potential event in Mexico in 2014, he does make it clear that they wouldn’t do a show there without Velasquez headlining.
That makes sense as Velasquez is really the first fighter in the UFC to have truly tapped into the Mexican market in a big way. It’s a region that the UFC sees as a big potential market for them in the future, but for now it’s predominantly still boxing that rules the roost there.
The UFC established a solid TV deal there earlier this year which certainly helps, and a major event with Velasquez defending his belt could make a significant impact and help grow the sport there, but without him it’d probably be a tough sell.
