Issue 111

February 2014

As ‘the only heavyweight champion’ in the history of Mexican fight sports, Cain Velasquez and the UFC are preparing to conquer an entire nation one day. Fighters Only hits Mexico City with the world number one and discovers a populace primed to receive their biggest hero yet

The only Mexican ever to hold a heavyweight title, UFC champion Cain Velasquez has become a major figure in the country of his parents. He is being compared to the Aztec warriors of old, and demand is growing exponentially to see him fight south of the border.  

Traditionally, boxing has undoubtedly been Mexico’s number-one combat sport, and right now, The Ring magazine has 30 Mexican boxers listed in its divisional heavyweight rankings, second only to the USA (34), while they may well be ahead in terms of total numbers of professionals competing. But after a recent visit to the old country, the UFC heavyweight master believes mixed martial arts has blown up.

The big man’s latest sojourn across the border left him amazed by what he saw and experienced. Velasquez visited Mexico City and Guadalajara, and Fighters Only magazine was there alongside him, witnessing this truly explosive growth in MMA’s popularity.

“It’s been a great trip. We’ve done a lot of good, diverse stuff during our time here already. A lot of PR, visits, and I guess MMA, as far as growing the sport, it has really blown up big time. I’ve witnessed a huge difference from the last time I was here through to now,” Cain explains, as he gazes out across the skyline of Mexico City.

It’s the first opportunity today Cain has had to relax, and he enjoys the solitude the rooftops provide; a calm above the storm. Back down on the street, the heavyweight champion found himself unable to move whenever he was spotted, while Mexican television channels pump out fresh interviews on practically every station.

“Yeah, it can be a little overwhelming at times,” explains the 31-year-old, two-time belt holder of the UFC’s blue-riband division. Velasquez has now defended the title twice in this current reign, to Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva and Junior Dos Santos, the latest in October’s Houston trilogy fight in which he dominated Brazilian ‘Cigano’ for a second time.

“Everywhere I go when I am here, I am recognized. And we also got presented with an award over here, on what was the equivalent of MTV in Mexico. They had a whole award show for their music and stuff and they had me on there too.

“I can’t walk around anywhere anymore. It’s been just crazy. Even in the last year or so, it has changed a lot over here, so it’s a good thing because it’s blowing up here so much more than ever before.

“In the past, I’d go out here and I’d get recognized once in a while, but this trip has been very different. Every time we go out doing any PR work, or even out getting something to eat between meetings or functions, the awareness of MMA has been everywhere. It seems that everybody has noticed now that MMA is here, and that it is on the up. This trip has been way different than any time before.”

Does Velasquez believe the UFC, and the sport of mixed martial arts, will explode in Mexico? “It has already. It really has,” he smiles “As far as I know and the people who know about it, everyone feels that it has exploded. For the fans, it’s exploded.

“There’s clearly a future in it for the fighters, too. It’s not like it is in the US yet. Wherever you go, whatever you want to go and do now in the US, there’s a gym across the road.

“In Mexico, there’s one gym that might teach you everything, but other than that there are gyms that teach karate, that teach boxing, or wrestling. It really isn’t as big, so far as the gym set-up is concerned, but that will come.”

A series of The Ultimate Fighter is due to take place in Mexico in 2014, which could take a new hold on the fan base, and create a crop of new fighters for the aficionados to identify with.

 And Velasquez believes it could also help see interest skyrocket. “Yeah, I believe so. The Ultimate Fighter will give local fighters a chance to develop and make a name for themselves, and also having the 24-hour channel in Spanish (via Televisa) will get more people involved. There’s tons of fans here who know the sport already, and all of this will just help it grow,” he states.

A current crop of The Ultimate Fighter Mexico fighters are already in training in Greg Jackson’s MMA gym, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and even competing on his local promotions across the state. This extra training means they will not bear the hallmarks of a group of novices when the show starts in earnest later this year.

Velasquez says: “This is definitely the best thing for them. To be at a real gym, training with real fighters, will give them the experience they need to do this. It’s definitely the best thing for them, you know. When they start filming The Ultimate Fighter, we’re really going to see some new heroes for the fan base. That can only be a good thing.” 

Mexican hero

Velasquez grew up with a few Mexican heroes of his own, such as boxing superstars Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez. There were barely any Mexicans competing in martial arts, and even fewer fighters populating the heavier divisions. His heroes then were all “little guys”, Cain recalls.

Little wonder, then, that in September, the UFC brought Velasquez into the bowels of the MGM Grand for a meeting and photo opportunity with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, the young boxer who has become an idol in Mexico. Another ‘little guy,’ at 152lb, but a significant occasion.

Velasquez met Alvarez on weigh-in day in Las Vegas, where 16,000 fans had turned up to see Canelo on the scales as he prepared to face Floyd Mayweather Jnr, boxing’s pound-for-pound king. The audience was 90% of Mexican descent, replete with raucous support and the violins, trumpets, and guitars of mariachi bands. It was a moment that Cain savored.

“That atmosphere, in Las Vegas with the big Mexican crowds at that fight, was amazing. I definitely could see MMA getting that big. Everyone that I talk to says there’s been a new generation of people who are watching sports down there, and I would say it’s mainly MMA.”

Velasquez believes it will overtake the traditional stranglehold that boxing has had for so long, as the broad appeal of mixed martial arts spreads across his native country. “I would definitely say that soon, it will be more MMA than boxing because people are learning how exciting it is and people are intrigued about it. I think it will be as big as boxing here, especially with the younger people growing up with this sport.”

There is a deep sense of responsibility, Velasquez believes, in being the first Mexican – ‘El Único’ (The Only) – to hold a heavyweight title belt in fight sports. It seems incredible that no Mexican has ever held the heavyweight world title belt, especially in boxing. The boxer John Ruiz, of Puerto Rican ancestry, was in fact the first Latino heavyweight champion when he won the WBA strap back in March 2001, but Mexico has never had a hero of that size to worship.

History in the making, therefore, with Velasquez, who could be the catalyst and inspiration to shift the paradigm for a generation, heralding a move from the UFC to take its burgeoning juggernaut of a show down to Mexico for the first time in 2014.

And the UFC also has the perfect opponent in waiting. Matching the most-rounded fighter in the heavyweight rankings will most likely be Spanish-speaking Fabricio Werdum, currently number three in the divisional ladder. 

Indeed, the UFC even announced an April 2014 date as its first move to Mexico with the two heavyweights colliding in Mexico City. But shoulder problems for Cain forced a rethink regarding that potential UFC 172 card. And, as of yet, there has been no new date.

“I don’t know when I’ll be back in action yet,” Cain tells FO. “We’ll have to see. I don’t know with my shoulder being the way it is, we’ll just have to play it by ear.

“I’m just going through a little bit of light rehab on it right now, just resting it. The doctors mostly said to just rest it for now. The one thing we don’t want to do is surgery.” But since our talk, that is in fact what Cain has been forced to do. But it’s interesting to understand the lengths he went to trying to avoid it.

“We’ve actually been doing BRT (blood replacement therapy), which is taking blood from you and getting all the good blood cells to help you heal faster, injecting it in to the area that’s hurt. It’s been a couple of weeks and we’re seeing how it’s healing. It’s kind of a new thing. If it helps then I’ll definitely do more of it. I’m feeling that my shoulder is getting better already after the fight (with Dos Santos).”

Velasquez admits he would love to fight here in Mexico, in what would be tantamount to the return of a conquering hero. He says: “There is a huge amount of pride resting on that title. It feels good, you know, to be the first (Mexican) to hold it, and overall to hold the title anyway,” he explains.

“I guess to be the first is a good feeling because it means that all the hard work is paying off. But I always look at it as, ‘I’m not done yet.’ Being in this position is where I am, but I must keep improving. I’m here, I got here through hard work and endeavor, and I’m going to do the best of my abilities to stay here.”

Simple philosophy, but grounded on the same values that so many Mexicans stand by, day after day, as they look after family and friends, the pillars of their community. The work ethic Velasquez has in life is carried into the gym with him for every session. 

Javier Mendez, owner and head trainer at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, speaks of Cain’s “unerring work ethic,” while training partner, coach and fellow fighter Daniel Cormier talks of the heavyweight champion as “the most dedicated athlete imaginable.”    

“We’ve never seen a Mexican like Cain before, he is special,” insists Mendez. 

Roots of fight 

Look back into the roots of fight for Velasquez. There is no familial house his parents own in Mexico. His paternal grandmother has a house there, but what his father Efrain went through in his life is engrained in the champion.

Efrain was an illegal immigrant into the US, who walked across the desert many times to escape poverty, find work and raise a family. He was deported on six occasions, but on the seventh, he met Cain’s mother, Isabel, and they became partners.

Together, they picked lettuce in the fields of California and Arizona. Physical, back-breaking work. And that work ethic has been passed down to their three children.

It has been suggested that the UFC heavyweight champion’s incredible cardio comes from working in the fields with his parents, tossing watermelons into the cart which accompanies the pickers.

Velasquez has never forgotten that earthy message. He says it gave him, “perspective and humility,” whenever he needed to think about it.

In Yuma, Arizona, at Kofa High School, Velasquez showed why his temperament was important. He was the captain of both the wrestling and football teams. The first member of his family to earn a college degree, there was skepticism from the family, at first, when he chose a career in mixed martial arts. But as ever, once explained, he had complete support.

What is also extraordinary, and will assist Velasquez’s rise in Mexico, is that he took the trouble to learn Spanish properly four years ago. The UFC took him to Mexico on a PR trip in the summer of 2009, and it was clear then that he was seen as something special.

“My grandma’s the only one who has a house in Mexico, and of course, I know uncles and aunts and they have places there but my parents don’t. We never owned a house when I was growing up, so just last week I was with my parents and I actually just bought them a house,” states the champion.

“That was one of my dreams growing up. To have them secure and getting them a home so they would never have to pack up and go to another house. So it’s definitely achieving a big dream, both for myself and my wife, that we were able to do that for them. It was a good moment for us. I hope that I can keep doing good things for them and for the rest of my family.”

Famously, Velasquez rarely shows his emotions. Even when explaining what he has just done for his parents – a momentous point in any person’s life – his tone remains the same.  

“It’s just the way that I’ve been brought up, never to be, I guess I’d say not to be ‘flashy.’ Even now, I guess my wife will say something coming up in a couple of weeks – something that should make me happy – but really it doesn’t until it actually happens. I’m just like that.”

He lives for the day. “My parents, and especially men in Mexican culture, we are not supposed to show a lot of emotion. We go out, we do our job, we come back and that’s part of our lives.

“We do our job and to be men we have to be strong. Stuff happens, anything bad or whatever, and we don’t show emotion. We keep that inside and I think there’s only a few people that I’ll let see my emotions. That’s family and friends. People that I’ve known for a long time. But in the fight game I pretty much never do that.”

As if to illustrate the point, I can recall speaking with Velasquez only minutes after he won the heavyweight belt for the first time, defeating Brock Lesnar in Anaheim.

Barely fazed, he turned to me on the set of ESPN’s MMA Live show, which was in a box at the arena, and said: “I’m pleased. But this is just the start.”

Just as we’ve now come to expect from ‘Cara De Piedra,’ Face of Stone. Velasquez adds: “With me, there might be a little five to 10-second break when I put my fist up and celebrate, but you’re a professional, you’ve been in this situation before countless times and a win is exactly that. Just a win.”

It remains an incredible lesson in restraint and focus, nonetheless, but the heavyweight face of a champion who could carry the burden of expectation for a whole new nation arriving thick and fast on the mixed martial arts scene.

What is BRT?

Dr. Jonathan Gelber, of fightmedicine.net, explains Velasquez’s unusual injury treatment.

It’s blood replacement therapy (BRT), or more commonly called, platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections. Many famous athletes – including Tiger Woods and Rafael Nadal – have received PRP for various problems, such as sprained knees and chronic tendon injuries. 

Some athletes have credited PRP with being able to return to competition quicker. It seems to provide great results when treating conditions that have typically been treated with medications, physical therapy or even surgery. However, the data isn’t conclusive. 

Although we think of blood as a liquid, it also contains small solid components: red cells, white cells and platelets. Platelets contain hundreds of proteins called growth factors that are very important in the healing of injuries.

When blood is spun in a centrifuge, the layers of blood separate out and the plasma-platelet layer can be isolated. This layer concentrates the growth factors to up to10 times. That can then be combined with some of the remaining blood to create a growth factor-rich solution. 

It is believed that delivering it directly to the injured area in a concentrated form will help the body to heal better. 

Despite the theoretical reasoning, there are still many questions in the medical field about it and there is yet to be conclusive evidence to show that this manner of treatment actually works.

Velasquez on… Daniel Cormier

“I’m not going to fight him, I won’t fight him for anything. We fight all the time in the gym, we’re friends. I consider him my coach as well, so that won’t happen. We’re both guys that are loyal friends, loyal teammates and you know, friends last for a lifetime. I’m happy with the way I’m doing things now, and the money I’m making, so it’s going to keep going for us. No matter what, we’re going to beat other guys, not each other.”

Velasquez on... Fabricio Werdum

“He’s a tough dude. He’s been in the business for a while, and he’s one of the best guys out there. I don’t know how the fight would go down but I’m sure we’ll both be ready for the fight. I think I will face him next.” 

Velasquez on... Travis Browne

“Travis Browne’s a big guy, really tall, with a good amount of power. He’s a tough fighter for sure. He came back well in the fight against Alistair Overeem and I definitely see him being one of the tough guys I’ll compete against.”

Velasquez on... Josh Barnett

“I definitely think I’ll face Barnett at some point. We know how tough he is and he’s been in this forever. He has a lot of experience in the sport, and is one of the guys who is always dangerous on his feet, and on the ground. He and Daniel Cormier was a tough fight. He’s one of the best contenders.”

Velasquez on... Stipe Miocic

“Miocic is another hungry fighter. Every guy out there in the heavyweight division at this level could definitely be an opponent, potentially. Every guy has something to bring to the table, and Miocic has power and ambition.”

Velasquez on... Jon Jones

“I believe that this fight will happen with Jones, definitely, if he could get some weight on and move up to heavyweight. He is really good, skill-wise. And when Jones does come up – and I am sure he will – that’ll definitely be a big challenge for me.”