The 5 Biggest Flops in UFC History

#2 Cain Velasquez

Injuries have taken a toll on Velasquez's career

Injuries are what have held the two-time heavyweight champion back.

The buzz around Velasquez due to his performances in the gym at the renowned American Kickboxing Academy convinced the UFC to sign Velasquez in 2008, despite him only having two pro fights.

Cain didn’t disappoint. He came in like a steam engine, he won his first three fights by TKO. In Velasquez’s first real test, he took a shot right in the jaw from the heavy-handed Cheick Kongo but marched on through to a unanimous decision win.

After a KO win over legend Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, UFC deemed Velasquez ready for a shot at heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

Velasquez exposed Lesnar in a dominating display to win the title. It was during the fight that Velasquez suffered his first serious injury, a torn rotator cuff.

UFC deemed his first defence big enough to be the inaugural MMA fight on the FOX network. Velasquez suffered his first loss that night to Junior Dos Santos.

Velasquez dominated the next two bouts against Dos Santos however. The trilogy between the two men should’ve been a momentous series but all three fights failed to attract significant interest and the PPV buys for the second and third bout were below what was expected.

After the third Dos Santos, Velasquez didn’t fight for a year and a half due to a knee injury. When he returned, Velasquez lost his title to Werdum via guillotine choke submission in the third round. He’s only had one other fight since then.

In the past five years, Velasquez has just fought four times.

It’s not just his inactivity that’s irked the UFC, Velasquez has failed to connect with the Latin America audience due to the California native’s poor Spanish skills and soft-spoken manner.

Velasquez is currently out right now due to a back injury; there is no timetable for his return.