MEXICO CITY — UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has withdrawn from his championship fight against No. 1 contender Fabricio Werdum in Mexico City next month after suffering a right knee injury during training.
UFC announced Tuesday that No. 4 heavyweight Mark Hunt (10-8-1) of New Zealand will face Werdum (18-5-1) in the five-round main event for the interim UFC heavyweight title on Nov. 15.
"I’m so unbelievably disappointed that this happened," Velasquez said. "To say I was looking forward to fighting in Mexico for the first time is an understatement. I wanted to fight on that card so bad.
"Looks like it wasn’t meant to be and it’s not going to happen. I’m going to get my knee fixed and get back to training as soon as I can."
Velasquez hasn’t fought since October 2013, when he beat Junior Dos Santos in his second title defence.
The 40-year-old Hunt is coming off a walk-off knockout against Roy Nelson in Tokyo in September.
"I’m dropping everything and flying to Mexico (Wednesday) so I can best prepare myself for this fight," Hunt said. "I have to get into shape and acclimatize to that environment, which is really important."
Werdum, who is from Brazil, has won seven of his last eight fights.