Issue 100

April 2013

The UFC heavyweight champion is back… on the road, at the top of the division, and eager to build his legacy on top of his potential.

As the sun beats down on El Camino Real, the highway that runs like a spine up the back of California’s Silicon Valley, the scorched earth either side of the asphalt lays silent. Aside from the odd foraging lizard or circling buzzard overhead, the road lies dormant for most of the day despite being on minutes away from the hustle and bustle of San Jose.

Soon enough, however, the stillness is broken when in the distance comes the rasping sound of man. Man on steel to be exact, and not just any man either. The most dangerous man on the planet to be precise… After all, how else should one describe the current heavyweight champion of the world?

Cain Velasquez has returned, and not only to continue his Fighters Only interview and photoshoot. He’s returned to the top of the MMA landscape; regained his position as the undisputed number one in fight sports’ premier weight division. 

Like a scene from Sons of Anarchy, he burns the throttle until he’s upon us and, for the first time all day, a beaming smile can be seen through the open visor of his helmet.

“I ride to relax,” says the 30-year-old American Kickboxing Academy standout. “I go to the gym and get back onto the bike and kinda air all the worries of training and everything kinda goes away before I get home. When you’re riding you’ve got to just focus on what you’re doing at hand, so you forget about the training or the next fight for a few minutes. It relaxes you, clears your mind – and it’s also a lot of fun.”

It was actually Cain’s wife Michelle that got him into motorcycles about a year ago, and despite a rocky history of bikes and UFC heavyweight champions – Frank Mir’s brief reign in 2004 was wrecked after an accident, Velasquez insists the organization is supportive of his riding, even gifting him a new Harley-Davidson after his last fight.

That, of course, was an added reward after Cain regained his place as MMA’s heavyweight flagbearer. Once dubbed the most complete heavyweight of his generation, Velasquez was knocked out in spectacular fashion by Junior Dos Santos in November 2011, losing both the UFC belt and his unblemished record to boot. But in December he produced a performance that reaffirmed the original moniker and wrote of his sole defeat as nothing more than a career blip.

After beating up Junior Dos Santos for five rounds at UFC 155, Velasquez admits he finally felt vindicated. “The first was so short, I didn’t show what I had, but I learned from the first fight even though it was so short,” he says. “I didn’t do much in the first fight, so we just took that into the next fight, the gameplan I mean. 

“We had a greater sense of urgency in implementing the gameplan the second time. I have a sense of purpose in everything I do, so in the second fight, we wanted to take the fight to him. We felt after watching his videos and everything else that we would force him to back up. He didn’t really attack when he’s backed up, it was a lot of him waiting, attacking, and kinda getting that distance again. So we planned that going forward, that would be the best thing I could do.”

And this time the plan went off like clockwork. “The main goal was simply about winning the fight. I just don’t know how we would do it, there was definitely a lot of things going on heading into the first fight. But I learned from that experience. And it drove me to work harder in training for this fight.”

Losing for the first time, Cain readily admits, affected him deeply. And it haunted him throughout his preparations for UFC 155, even into the Octagon in the closing seconds. “Him being my only loss, it stayed on my mind all the time. Not doing what I was supposed to do, you know, it definitely left a sour taste in my mouth. The whole year, just thinking about that fight, wanting a rematch, it was tough.

“But I knew things would be different this time because it was a new fight. Whatever happened in the first one didn’t matter; this was a new one. I felt at 100%, my body felt 100%, so I just had to go in on that day and show up and just do what I’ve been training for a whole year now.”

Regaining the title

Cue a one-sided beatdown that left even the most ardent of Dos Santos supporters in no doubt that the belt was about to return to California. Aside from Junior’s strong takedown defense, his offense was completely nullified by Velasquez’s constant attacks. On a couple of occasions, in the first and third rounds, a stoppage victory looked likely for the former wrestling star.

However, the finish was never on the mind of the champion. Cain says: “He’s a tough guy so I never expected to finish him, but I’m probably glad I didn’t finish him too. If I had finished him early in that opening round, I would be probably like, ‘Okay, well, we both got a quick knockout, so let’s settle it again.’ So I’m glad it went the whole five rounds, you know, as I beat him everywhere in those five rounds.

“Could I of finished him? I just won the five rounds. That’s all I’m gonna say.”

And Velasquez admits lifting the UFC belt tasted even sweeter the second time around. “Both times were great, but this one I believe I had more prove,” he says. “With him beating me. I guess that’s pretty much it. Me getting my revenge, me getting the belt back. Everything, you know, it was definitely a lot of pressure, but it’s definitely worth it.

Being the champion of the world is a great feeling. But, for me, you know, is not per se the belt itself. It’s simply knowing that I beat the best guys to go to where I’m at.”

So what about the next chapter, now that he’s back on the throne. Who does Velasquez fancy taking on next? “I believe the fight between [Alistair] Overeem and ‘Bigfoot’ [Silva] is for the number one contendership, whoever wins that, has the chance to fight me, so let’s see what happens. I’m happy to fight whichever guy proves himself to be the most worthy contender.

“I see both guys as equally tough challengers. Overeem has very good stand-up, a good level of kickboxing, with powerful knees and a lot of power. And both of these guys have a lot of power in their hands. Bigfoot probably has better jiu-jitsu than my own, but both guys are tough and durable. Bigfoot, don’t write him off yet, I´ve seen him in a couple of good fights and he’s really tough, so I think it’s going to be a very good fight.”

And as for Dos Santos, who told Joe Rogan afterwards that he wanted an immediate rematch with Velasquez despite the one-sided nature of the fight, Cain says it’s now his turn to prove he’s still in contention, saying: “I think he needs to come back and prove himself now. 

“It’s like I said, I lost that first fight with him fair and square, I had to go out and perform really well to get another title shot, and I did that. Now he has to do the same thing.”

Yet there is another leading heavyweight star Cain is adamant he won't be fighting any time soon – if ever at all. Daniel Cormier will enter the UFC Octagon in April, following the dissolution of Strikeforce, and face Frank Mir on Fox, yet Velasquez is sure his sparring partner and teammate has got his eye on a different prize in the UFC. 

“He’s kind of talked about going down in weight when he goes into the UFC and I’m definitely supporting him 100% regarding whatever he does. He’s a great workout partner, he’s a great friend, and he’s a great coach as well, and he’ll be a star in the UFC. He will hold the belt. There’s no doubt in my mind he won’t do that.”

And as for any talk of him moving down to 205lb one day, he states: “I am heavyweight forever. I´ve been close to 200lb ever since I was in junior high, so it’s just not going to happen.”

Leaving a legacy

Since it was first held aloft by Mark Coleman following his UFC 12 victory over Dan Severn in 2007, the UFC heavyweight belt has remained one of the most unforgiving crowns in world sport. Of the 13 men who have called the belt their own, not one has managed to make three consecutive title defenses. That’s a stark contrast to boxing where the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali, are currently riding 13 and nine fight title defense winning streaks. MMA, it’s abundantly clear, is simply far more competitive.

And yet Cain has set his own target now of holding onto the UFC belt long into the future. Once more now labeled as the greatest heavyweight of this generation, Velasquez shrugs off compliments as nothing more than conjecture and insists he’s out to fulfill his destiny in his own time and way.

He says: “I’ve just gotta keep winning. People can predict all the stuff they want, whatever, man. I just have to go out there and win every fight. That’s what it comes down to – winning. I have to go out there and win.

“I refuse to compare myself to the former heavyweight champions. Right now I’m just worried about who I have coming up next, I’m not thinking about any kind of legacy. That’s up to the fans to decide. But I feel like I have a lot to prove still in the sport, and I have to keep getting better – and winning fights.”

Finding the UFC

Velasquez recalls: “My first fight was with Strikeforce, my second fight was Bodog, and both were pretty easy. Bodog was new then, so there were new faces going in, and we weren’t ready for a long contract. We just wanted two-fight deals and that was it. They had me doing those two fights, and then we wanted to get more ring time before entering the UFC, so we tried to get local fights around San Jose. 

“We got some in Mexico and we went to a couple in Arizona too, but all the fights either got canceled or the opponents pulled out. They would look up my resume and see I wrestled first in San Jose and would back out. This happened for like a year or two straight. But by that time I’d moved over to AKA and the coaches knew everybody over at the UFC. 

“They called Dana White and they told him he had to take a look at me, just as far as in the gym training. So we had a training session, with him over at the UFC training center, and he decided to sign me right away. He saw what I had, saw me training, and that was it.”

Now five years ad 10 fights on from his UFC debut, Velasquez admits he’s enjoying life at the top of the pile now more than ever. With a young family and a global fanbase, the heavyweight champion is becoming one of the most popular sportsmen in the world – nowhere more so than in Mexico.

Cain says: “I’m very proud to be a role model. I just want my fight style to speak by itself, but I’m very proud to be looked up too in that way. When I was growing up, Julio Cesar Chavez was one of my favorites in boxing, and I was boxing when I was little and watching him in his prime, you know, winning; he was probably one of the guys I was looking up to

“But I had great teachers too, at home. My mom and dad have always been supportive of anything I’ve done. That’s definitely a good thing. And now I have my own family, having a little girl, you know, having my wife who makes it possible for this to be easier for me to train. 

“Pretty much all I need to worry about is training and fighting. She keeps a lot of the stress at ease for me during training camp and everything else. I think that’s one of the big things I have right now on my side that makes me successful. It’s having a strong woman like her by me.”

And with that, he’s back on his bike and rides off into the sunset, with the UFC heavyweight belt locked safely away…. Blah blah blah!!!!

Brown pride

How being Mexican-American inspires the heavyweight champion of the world.

Being a Mexican-American, how are the Mexican fans with you?

“Great. Mexican fans have been always behind me, always supporting me. They’ve been loyal since the very beginning, and it just feels good to have that with you. It definitely strengthens you. You want to win not just for yourself and not just for your family, but for the fans, 'cause they want you to win so bad.”

We know all about your life story, about your father, being Mexican, crossing the border. What made you decide to start coming out with the Mexican flag? You never did it when you first started.

“I just want to represent the morals my father instilled in me and be proud of where I came from, where my parents came from. I mean, there‘s not a lot of Mexicans in the UFC. I wanted to be the one to go there, represent my heritage, and also be at the very top of my game.”

Tito Ortiz was the first fighter to come out waving a Mexican flag, yet you choose to wrap it around your fist. Does this symbolize anything?

“I feel like all Mexicans are all in a fight together, so when I throw a punch everybody is throwing that punch with me, it just makes it more meaningful that way. It´s definitely my own type of style, I definitely feel that.”

Do you feel any extra pressure as the UFC pushed to increase its market share in Mexico? Or do you use it more as an inspiration, motivation?

“It’s motivation, definitely. No pressure. I know what I have to do since the beginning: I have to train and win. That´s all it comes down to, winning. Definitely motivation. One of my dreams is to headline a fight in Mexico, whenever the UFC decides to come over here. I definitely hope to be on that card. But it´s up to them to decide when is the right time to come here, but I will definitely do everything I can to be a part of that.”

Growing up in the US, what does Mexico mean to you?

“For me, you know, growing up in Yuma, Arizona, which is only around 30 minutes from the border, and where from my dad grew up, San Luis. I remember as a kid growing up, every weekend we’d go down to San Luis to visit family, to eat, to know the layout, we always be there, and having a time like that around me, made it more closer to my heart. I pretty much grew up there, and I was always very proud of that.”

You’ve visited Mexico City a couple of times now, but the capital is way different to the border areas, how comfortable are you around here? Or how comfortable are you in Mexico in general?

“Very comfortable. This is probably my fifth time here in Mexico City. I feel good every time I come down here. Every part of Mexico, so far, I´ve always felt good. It´s like I said before, coming here is always been the same to me.”