Cain Velasquez admits he took a lot of time off from the mixed martial arts (MMA) world to rest his mind and body from all the wear-and-tear of brutal training camps, not necessarily the fights themselves. In his case, Cain reveals he doesn’t know any other way to train but to go full speed ahead, which can at times be a hindrance to his body and make him prone to injuries.
“To be the best you can be, you don’t do it by working half assed. You don’t do it by not putting 100-percent into your work,” he said during a recent media luncheon. “To get the best Cain Velasquez, the best fighter out there, people want to see, you need to train hard and that’s the only way I know how to do it.”
As far as finding a balance, Cain says it’s simply too hard for him to do, as he feels he won’t be the best fighter possible if he slacks in the gym. Due to his nagging injuries and setbacks, the ex 265-pound champion says he had thoughts about leaving the sport for good. So when UFC wanted him back, he had to make sure he would be well-compensated in order to put his body through it all over again.
“It all had to make sense as well for me to come back. Again, it takes a lot out of me from the training aspect, but I love it. I love what I do, I love to go out there and train. I love to train with high intensity. I’m so competitive in my daily life,” he added, while revealing the promotion made it worthwhile to mount his comeback.
“They did, it’s something that I am happy with. It’s something that for me and my family makes sense. Now that we got all of that squared away and took the time to get everything right, I’m ready.”
That’s not to say he didn’t have thoughts about leaving the sport of MMA for good if the financial aspect of it all didn’t make sense.
“I always thought about it. Me and my family, we’ve talked about it, my wife and I. Again, if it didn’t make sense, I would be able to walk away and I would be okay with that,” he said. “There is life after fighting, so it’s all about that. I have kids now and it’s all about that longevity. It just all had to make sense, so it has.”
Cain’s last bout took place in July of 2016, knocking out Travis Browne at UFC 200 in the very first round (see it here). With his mind, body and checkbook correct, he will look to prove he hasn’t lost a step despite his lengthy layoff when he faces off against power-hitter Francis Ngannou in the main event of UFC on ESPN 1 this Sunday night (Feb. 17, 2019) in Phoenix, Arizona.
To learn more about that event click here.
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