The injury bug has struck former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez again, and he has been forced to pull out of his title fight against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 196. Stipe Miocic will now take on Werdum for a shot at the UFC heavyweight title.
Cain Velasquez is out with a back injury. Stipe vs Werdum for the heavyweight championship February 6th. pic.twitter.com/vPRJYJvOjL
— Dana White (@danawhite) January 24, 2016
Werdum submitted Velasquez at UFC 188 to become the new UFC heavyweight champion. Velasquez had been out of action for an extended period of time, dealing with injuries as usual.
Miocic (14-2) has won back-to-back fights with both fights ending via TKO. He knocked out formed UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski in 54 seconds at UFC 195 in his last outing. It will be a really quick turnaround for Miocic, but he is certainly deserving of the opportunity.
Stay tuned to ProMMAnow.com for more UFC 196 news and coverage.