Rep: Werdum accepted Dos Santos at UFC 207 'under his terms,' looks toward April title shot

Longtime manager and former WSOF executive Ali Abdelaziz said fans aren’t getting the whole story about Cain Velasquez’s withdrawal from UFC 207.

“If everybody thinks this fight didn’t happen because of the commission, you’re wrong,” he told MMAjunkie Radio on Monday.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission, which oversees Friday’s pay-per-view event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, recently declined to clear Velasquez (14-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) to compete against ex-champ Fabricio Werdum (21-6-1 MMA, 9-3 UFC), prompting the UFC to cancel the fight.

The NSAC cited concerns about Velasquez’s safety after he gave an interview to ESPN.com in which he spoke of ongoing back pain in advance of surgery after the fight, as well as his use of cannabidiol (CBD) – a compound made from marijuana – to treat symptoms.

Abdelaziz doesn’t take issue with the commission’s decision to rule out Velasquez. But he said the underlying reason why the fight wasn’t preserved has more to do with the potential fallout from the ex-champ’s participation than a serious medical issue.

“Cain is not misleading people,” Abdelaziz said. “He might be cleared by his doctor. But they have to take into consideration his statements. That’s what’s going to hold in court also.”

The manager claimed UFC officials did “the minimum” to keep Velasquez in the fight because the promotion is ultimately concerned about getting sued by the upstart Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association (MMAAA).

“The UFC looks (and says), OK, Cain is a part of this group? You said you’re injured,” Abdelaziz said. “Now, if I let you fight, three weeks or two or six months later, (a judge would ask), did you get these guys to fight when you knew they were injured?”

The UFC did not respond to a request for comment.

Abdelaziz takes no issue with Velasquez personally. But he blames MMAAA advisor and ex-Bellator chief Bjorn Rebney and Velasquez’s management at CAA for what he suspects is career meddling. He thinks Velasquez was encouraged to talk about his injuries as part of a longer-term strategy to hurt the UFC.

“When was the last time you’ve seen Cain talk in an interview?” the manager asked. “He doesn’t even talk. If I was the UFC, (I’d say expletive) this (expletive). Let the commission decide it. I’m not going to push for it, because he wants to sue me, because all those guys are with the union.

“This is 100 percent Cain’s (expletive) management.”

Rebney, via his PR firm, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Velasquez’s management firm, CAA Sports, did not respond at the time of publication.

“(Velasquez) volunteered information,” Abdelaziz said. “When I do interview with any of my fighters, we talk about the interview. I ask the media about the questions. I do. If you want to call it control, this is my style. If you want to do an interview with my fighters, we’re going to talk about the subjects. I’m not going to tell you not to say stuff, but I want to know what you’re going to talk about to protect my athlete. He paid me to do that.

“But now, this whole fight didn’t happen, because the UFC did the minimum. And if I were the UFC, I’d do the minimum, because I know this dude, they have investors that are probably going to sue the UFC. If I was Cain Velasquez, I would fire these guys.”

There was a brief moment when a replacement opponent was considered for the heavyweight bout. Ex-champ Junior Dos Santos, whom Werdum knocked out eight years ago, was offered by the promotion as an option.

Dos Santos, who’s scheduled to take on Stefan Struve at UFC Fight Night 105, later tweeted that Werdum turned down the bout. Abdelaziz not so politely said that’s not accurate.

“Junior Dos Santos is full of (expletive),” Abdelaziz said. “He’s 100 percent full of (expletive) because it was Thursday. Cain was not called out until Saturday. Fabricio agreed to take the fight under his terms.”

What that meant, according to the manager, is a guaranteed title shot with a win and “other financial terms.” That’s what Werdum wanted in order to take such a different opponent on short notice. Unfortunately, UFC President Dana White’s response was just as blunt.

“Dana said, ‘(Expletive) you’ – in a joking manner,” Abdelaziz said. “It’s all right. A promoter and manager, they don’t have to agree. But there’s respect. We kept it cordial.”

Still, the manager vented at the lost opportunity for his client, who he said spent between $40,000 and $50,000 for training-camp expenses for the bout. Not only that, he said, but Werdum loses out on a big payday around the holidays.

Werdum made headlines earlier this year when he said he was no longer happy fighting for the promotion after it took away a broadcasting job in light of comments he made about official apparel sponsor Reebok. That didn’t make the job of getting him another fight easy.

“Fabricio and Dana don’t have the best relationship,” Abdelaziz said. “I felt even Dana was sad for him, a little bit. I hope Dana will give him some money. I doubt it.”

If White wanted to make it up to Werdum, of course, there’s an alternative. Abdelaziz said with Velasquez, the No. 3 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings now on the shelf, No. 2 Werdum deserves a shot at the title against champ and No. 1-ranked Stipe Miocic, who knocked him out in May to claim the title.

“If (Miocic) wants to come back in April, I feel like Cain Velasquez disqualified himself from the No. 1 contender match,” Abdelaziz said. “Now, Fabricio gets to fight Stipe Miocic. It makes sense. It’s a rematch.”

For more on UFC 207, check out the UFC Rumors section of MMAjunkie.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM Ch. 93, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.