Stipe Miocic vs. Cain Velasquez may have to wait.
Earlier today (July 19), BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor reported that a bout between Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight title holder Miocic and Velasquez was being worked on for UFC 216. MMAOddsBreaker.com‘s sources confirmed that was indeed the case, but let’s hold our horses.
MMAFighting.com has reached out to Miocic’s team, who said there are some contract issues to handle first. Here is a piece of the report courtesy of Ariel Helwani:
“According to his team, the main issue is Miocic, who is on the verge of beating the heavyweight record for most title defenses (2), has earned less than his challenger in his last two title defenses against JDS and Alistair Overeem. And so his team says Miocic isn’t willing to discuss his next fight until issues with his contract are properly addressed.”
Since entering the UFC, Miocic has been on a tear. The champion has gone 11-2 under the promotion. He’s beaten the likes of Fabricio Werdum, Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Mark Hunt, and Andrei Arlovski just to name a few.
Velasquez is a former heavyweight champion who has been sidelined with a back injury. He last fought back in July 2016, earning a first-round TKO win over Travis Browne.
