Image via Complex Original
On June 13, Cain Velasquez will finally step into the Octagon in front of his home country to take on interim heavyweight titleholder Fabricio Werdum at UFC 188 in Mexico City. After Velasquez was forced to withdraw because of an injury prior to their fight, which was slated to take place in November, Werdum defeated Mark Hunt via TKO as Cain watched on. Nearly two years since his last match, the 32-year-old heavyweight champion is not only ready to show everyone that he hasn’t lost a step in that time away from the sport, but he’s also out to prove that he is undoubtedly the best in his division.
Velasquez is the type of fighter who does his talking in the Octagon. So it can be difficult to get an idea as to who Cain was growing up, what has made him cry in the past, what scares him, and what sacrifices he made to get to this point in his UFC career. Well, we have done some digging to figure out the answer to those questions and more in 10 Things You Didn’t Know About UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez.
The last film to make him cry was Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Just one look at Velasquez and his opponents have the fear of God in their hearts. They’re probably also second-guessing why they ever agreed to step into the Octagon with him. While on The Dan Le Batard Show, the UFC heavyweight champion was asked about a completely different emotion. What was the last film to make him cry? Did he fall victim, like many before him, to The Notebook or Toy Story 3? Nope. In order to get the answer, you have to go way back to when Cain was still a kid, watching Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Check out this clip to hear his explanation for what caused the tears to come out.
None of his friends and family initially wanted him to compete in MMA.
In his nine years professionally fighting in the Octagon, Velasquez has amassed an impressive 13-1 record. He’s also the current UFC heavyweight champion. So it appears that he made a good decision pursuing this career. However, when Cain decided to give MMA a try after graduating from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2006, his friends and family weren’t on board with it. Instead, they wanted him to become a teacher. Looking back, Velasquez believes that their resistance had to do with the sport’s lack of national popularity at the time. Nowadays, the 32-year-old is a teacher—schooling dudes in the Octagon, that is.
He was one of the best wrestlers in the nation while at Arizona State University.
You have probably heard that Velasquez was a pretty good wrestler at Arizona State University. But do you know how good? In addition to being a two-time Division I All-American, Cain was ranked fifth in the nation at one point in his collegiate career. During the 2004-05 season on the Sun Devils wrestling team, Velasquez compiled a winning streak of 21 before losing in the semifinals of the NCAA Championships.
He’s the first major Mexican-American heavyweight champion in MMA or boxing.
When he made quick work of Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 in 2010, Velasquez didn’t just win the heavyweight title; he landed in record books, becoming the first major Mexican-American heavyweight champion in either MMA or boxing. From his entrance song, “Los Mandados,” which details the story of an Mexican immigrant attempting to cross the border into the United States to the “Brown Pride” tattoo across his chest, Cain is undoubtedly proud of his Mexican heritage and mindful of the many sacrifices made by his father Efrain. Surely, this accomplishment is proof that everything his father endured to give him and his family a better life was well worth it.
He turned down a scholarship offer to play football at Arizona State, opting to wrestle.
Take a look at this Sports Science clip with Velasquez and tell us he wouldn’t have made for one hell of a linebacker. It could’ve happened, but the 6-foot-1, 240-pound UFC heavyweight champion decided to go all-in on wrestling. “I was being recruited for both (football and wrestling) in high school by big schools and everything…to me, I knew I would be a better wrestler in college,” he said in an interview with the Republic. “I think that was it. My body size and everything was perfect for being a heavyweight wrestler rather than being a linebacker.”
He once signed a fan’s ultrasound picture.
Velasquez has endured his fair share of weird fan encounters, including having a male fan approach him nearly in tears. But the one that takes the cake is the one person who asked him to sign an ultrasound picture. What’s the likelihood that the kid in that ultrasound has the name Cain?
He is “kind of” scared of ghosts.
Velasquez doesn’t look like the type of guy who is afraid of anything, but you would be wrong in that assumption. Well, sort of. On The Dan Le Batard Show, Cain revealed that he is “kind of” scared of ghosts. The caveat here is that he has never seen an actual ghost. So, is he scared of the thought of ghosts? Okay, maybe he isn’t really scared of anything after all.
In high school, Velasquez’s wrestling record was 110-10.
How does one get a full scholarship to wrestle at Arizona State University? Well, your high school record has to be nearly as impressive as Velasquez’s, and that’s no small feat. In his four years at Kofa High School, Cain was 110-10 and won the Arizona Wrestling Championship twice. So basically, when you faced Velasquez, you were probably going to lose. Not all that different from his UFC career so far, no?
After training in San Jose, Velasquez would work nights as a bouncer at a bar and occasionally sleep in his car before going back to training.
While attempting to turn his professional MMA dreams into a reality, Velasquez was forced to make sacrifices, which included not sleeping in his own bed at night. Since his training facility in San Jose, Calif. was a two-hour drive from home, Cain would need to take a lengthy trip back after working his evening shift as a bouncer at a nearby bar. “Sometimes I wouldn’t want to go all the way back home, so I wouldn’t,” he admits. “The next day my mom would ask, ‘Where did you stay?’ I’d tell my mom, ‘Oh, I stayed at a coach’s house,’ but I’d actually sleep in my car a lot. I’d be parked outside The Home Depot across the street and then get up whenever it was time to train.” Some people aren’t built for that type of life, but Cain was. And now he’s reaping the rewards.
Financial issues forced Velasquez to take up wrestling.
Cain’s father wanted to give his family a better life than the one they would’ve had in Mexico. Motivated by the American Dream, Efrain made six trips to the United States and got deported all six times. That type of rejection would lead most people to call it quits. But he isn’t most people. On his seventh attempt, Efrain met his future wife and U.S. citizen, Isabel, in Arizona. The two eventually got married and their family worked hard to try and make ends meet. With such small pay coming their way, Velasquez wasn’t financially capable to pursue boxing, a dream of Cain and his father. Instead, he settled with wrestling in junior high school. Life can work in mysterious ways sometimes.
