Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez says he will probably not fight in 2017.
On Thursday, Velasquez was in attendance at the open workouts for UFC 215. White attending the open workouts, Velasquez did an interview and was asked if he plans to return to the Octagon sometime this year.
“This year, probably not,” Velasquez said.
Due to injuries, Velasquez has not fought in over a year. The former UFC champion went on to give an update on his current condition and talked about if he is ready to make a return to the Octagon.
“I’m close. I’m not there yet, but I’m close,” Velasquez said.
“I want to be 100 percent ready for the fans. I need to stop messing around and coming back too early. You know what I mean? I can’t do that. I can’t afford that anymore. I have to be 100 percent ready to come back. And I’ll do that.”
In the video below, you can listen to Velasquez talk about his future.
During the interview, Velasquez also said he wasn’t sure about whether or not he would get a title shot when he returns to the UFC. Earlier this year, there were rumors of Velasquez fighting UFC Heavyweight Champion Stipe Miocic for his title sometime this year, but that doesn’t appear to be an option.
Velasquez last fought back in July 2016 at UFC 200. On that night, Velasquez earned a TKO victory over Travis Browne.
Velasquez was scheduled to fight former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum in a rematch back in December. However, Velasquez was removed from the card after he revealed during an interview that he was suffering from a back injury.
Injuries have kept Velasquez out of the cage for the better part of the last four years. Since 2013, Velasquez has only fought four times. The former heavyweight champion only fought once in 2015 and 2016, and now appears will not be fighting in 2017.
