It appears that former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez is now officially a member of the WWE roster.
ESPN is reporting that Velasquez has signed a massive multi-year deal with the promotion. As a result, the 37-year-old is officially done with UFC and MMA. The former UFC star confirms his retirement from the sport on
MMA Junkie:
“As of right now, the chapter is closed on my MMA career,” Velasquez. “I’m focusing on the task at hand with the WWE. I love this sport. I’ve rebirthed myself into reliving it and loving it again. I’m all in on doing this. I’m diving deep into doing this, and this is what I’m doing for right now.”
The news is hardly surprising given Velasquez’s venture into wrestling since his debut back at TripleMania XXVII for AAA. The MMA fighter-turned-pro wrestler will face Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel for the WWE Championship on October 31
st.
If Cain’s retirement from MMA really sticks, then the former UFC Heavyweight leaves the sport after 10 years inside the octagon. Velasquez has defeated the likes of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Junior dos Santos, and Brock Lesnar, and captured the heavyweight belt once in his career. He ends his career with a record of 14 wins and 3 losses.
At the moment, there's no word on what plans WWE has for Velasquez following Crown Jewel. There was some speculation that officials were seriously considering put the WWE title on Cain; however, nothing is confirmed at the moment. Most likely, Velasquez will be used as a special attraction like Brock Lesnar, though that's just speculation on my end.