Daniel Cormier believes Cain Velasquez could have been the greatest heavyweight in UFC history if not for his injury troubles.
Velasquez (14-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) held the UFC heavyweight title in two separate reigns between 2010 and 2015, earning wins over legends such as Brock Lesnar, Junior dos Santos, and Antonio Silva during that stretch.
However, Velasquez’s career was plagued by injuries. He was ultimately dethroned at UFC 188 in 2015, when Fabricio Werdum submitted him following a two-year layoff.
He fought only twice more before retiring—defeating Travis Browne in 2016, then falling to Francis Ngannou in 2019.
UFC color commentator Daniel Cormier, who trained alongside Velasquez at American Kickboxing Academy during his championship run, told Aljamain Sterling in a YouTube interview that Velasquez was a truly unique force during his prime years.
“I've never seen anything like it,” Cormier said of Velasquez. “I still today have not seen anything like it. The training, the skill set, the ability. He really could do it all. If he didn't have all those injuries, he would be by far the greatest heavyweight of all time. No one would have beaten him.”
Velasquez was known for his relentless pace and freakish endurance during his career, earning the nickname “Cardio Cane.” Cormier believes that his unbelievable work rate in the training room is what ultimately led to the injury woes that curtailed his career.
“He was one of those kids that had nothing. He had so little that when they, when he would get mixed up with people, no matter what they told him to do, he would do. So the strength coach told him to leg press 800 pounds. He did it. He'd leg press 800 pounds. He just did everything, bro. He was a monster, and he just worked, and he worked, and he worked, and he worked himself into like injury after injury after injury.”
