Dana White Says Cain Velasquez Didn’t Want To Fight At UFC 207

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez was abruptly removed from UFC 207 after the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) pulled the fighter from the card due to medical reasons. UFC President Dana White, during a UFC 207 media event, believes that Velasquez didn’t want to compete at the event either way.

“Read the interview. It doesn’t sound like he wants to fight to me,” White said. “When you’re a fighter, and you do an interview days before a fight and say you can’t stand for 10 minutes, that’s insanity. First of all, this is the best organization in the world for fighting. He’s fighting one of the best fighters on Earth, and that fights last 15 minutes. You know how irresponsible it would be, not only for the UFC, but for any athletic commission to allow that fight to happen? It absolutely makes no sense. I love Cain. Cain’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. But if you read that article, it does not sound like he wants to fight.”

White isn’t exactly happy the final UFC card of 2016 lost a major fight, but he also believes the NAC made the right call in the end.

“His doctor said get a surgery, he was dealing with pain, which is completely normal for the injury,” White said. “He was dealing with pain and he was just going to have the surgery after the fight. What he didn’t say is, ‘I can’t stand for 10 minutes. I can’t do this.’ And even (UFC executive) Jeff Novitzky was there, said he was having trouble standing up and sitting down at the doctor’s office. So there’s no way in hell that guy should be fighting right now.”