UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will be out of action for the first six to eight months of 2011 due to a shoulder injury.
MMAFighting.com was the first to report the news of Velasquez’s injury earlier today.
Velasquez earned the UFC heavyweight belt when he defeated Brock Lesnar via technical knockout in the first round of their main event bout at UFC 121. The victory extended his record to an undefeated 9-0 and was his third knockout victory in as many fights.
In his first title defense, the American Kickboxing Academy product was supposed to meet slugger Junior dos Santos. While the Brazilian could very well still be the next man to face Velasquez, the top contender’s manager, Ed Soares, told MMAWeekly.com that he won’t wait around for Velasquez to return to action before stepping foot into the cage.
Dos Santos last competed at UFC 117, defeating Roy Nelson via unanimous decision. He has one loss out of 13 professional fights to go along with an impressive eight knockout victories.
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