Fabricio Werdum: Foot and back injuries led to decision to pull out of UFC 196

Fabricio Werdum’s decision to pull out of his UFC 196 main event with Stipe Miocic – who had replaced an injured Cain Velasquez – was a decision motivated by injury, according to the heavyweight champion.

Werdum (20-5-1 MMA, 8-2 UFC) pulled out of the bout one day after it was announced that Miocic (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) was stepping in for former champion Velasquez (13-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC). This led to an immediate reaction from some corners of the MMA fanbase that Werdum’s decision was motivated by fear.

Not so, says the champion, who won the belt from Velasquez at UFC 188.

“I already had an injury,” Werdum told MMAjunkie. “I have a cracked toe on my right foot. I haven’t trained in two weeks. Actually, I was training but couldn’t kick. Regardless, I was still going to face Cain Velasquez. The last time around, I had a contusion on my head and ended up not sparring for 40 days. I fought, regardless.

“Now, this past Friday, I hurt my back. I suffered a hard sprain. I ended up getting massages, going to the doctor, and everything else. But I felt it a lot while training today. I sparred today but couldn’t train as I should. So I decided not to fight since I’m not 100 percent. I’m not 100 percent, as I should be.”

Werdum stressed again that he would not have let the injuries get in the way of the rematch. But once Velasquez was out, he decided it was time to rest up.

“If Cain was going to fight, I was still going to face him,” Werdum said. “There’s a history between us due to our previous fight. Our fight was canceled three times. The first time I fought Travis Browne. Then, I fought Mark Hunt. Then I fought Cain. And now he canceled again. It’s not his fault. It’s no one’s fault. It happens. We train a lot. Injuries always happen. It can’t be avoided. When you train hard, there will always be injuries.”

According to Werdum, he has advanced past the point of needing to take fights out of financial need.

In addition, he said that the decision was made by his team at Kings MMA as much as his own. He set his own timetable for return in the two to three months range and remained open to a bout with either Velasquez or Miocic.What weighed a lot was that, in my career, it took a long time to get here, to get the belt, to be the champion. I can’t throw it all out the

“What weighed a lot was that, in my career, it took a long time to get here, to get the belt, to be the champion,” Werdum said. “I can’t throw it all out the window if I’m not 100 percent confident. I always say one needs to have balance between mind and body. Now, things are unstable. I don’t know if it’s the body or the mind. It’s a bit confusing. Now I have to think about everything at once. I can’t think about things the same way as when I was 20. I’d say ‘screw it – let’s do this.’It’s not like that anymore. Everything has changed. I’m 38 now. I’m the champion. I’m feeling great in this moment of my life. But I can’t risk a 20-year career due to my pride. I can’t.

“It’s not like that anymore. Everything has changed. I’m 38 now. I’m the champion. I’m feeling great in this moment of my life. But I can’t risk a 20-year career due to my pride. I can’t.”

For more on UFC 196, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.