BOSTON – Officially a member of the WWE, Cain Velasquez has put his MMA career behind him.
His former boss Dana White is more than OK with that, he said.
Following Friday’s UFC on ESPN 6 event in Boston, the UFC president detailed his side of Velasquez’s transition. White said he was skeptical at first. However, after seeing Velasquez’s debut performances for Mexican wrestling promotions, his mind quickly changed.
“Cain’s had some rough injuries that have happened,” White told reporters, including MMA Junkie. “The guy’s been a professional athlete for a longtime – a collegiate athlete. He’s a super nice guy. When it looks like it’s the end of your career and you’re looking at what to do next, it’s always hard for these guys to figure out what’s next.
“‘Where do I fit? What do I do?’ I was always like, ‘How’s Cain going to wrestle? He’s going to have problems with his body in MMA.’ Then I saw him doing the ‘loobra libay,’ (or) whatever they call wrestling with the mask on. I was like, ‘Goddamn, he’s pretty good.’ It’s cool.”
When White received a call from the WWE, he said he knew exactly why they were calling. White indicated it was an easy decision to allow his former heavyweight champion to pursue the next chapter in his athletic career.
“I got a call from WWE,” White said. “I knew. I knew what they were thinking. I was totally cool with it from the minute they called me. They didn’t even ask me. They were just looking for Cain. I figured that’s exactly what they were going to do because it completely makes sense.”
From White’s end, there was nothing but respect. He said he hopes Velasquez can follow along a similarly successful path as WWE superstar and former UFC champion Ronda Rousey.
“I’m happy for him, I’m happy for his family, and I hope he does well like Ronda did and makes a lot of money,” White said. “I hope the fans over there love him.”
The complimentary nature of the relationship between White and Velasquez is apparently a two-way street. After a WWE press conference earlier this month, Velasquez credited White for being totally responsive and cooperative to his request to join the WWE.
“(White) just supported me 100 percent,” Velasquez said. “It was just a good, respectful talk that we had. He thanked me for everything that I did. I thanked him and the company for everything that they did.
“He just gave me his full blessing. He said, ‘This is awesome, what you’re doing. Go ahead – you have my full consent to go ahead and do what you want to do.’”
