Winner Between Carwin vs. Dos Santos at UFC 131 Will Face Velasquez In ’4 to 5 Months’

UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 121

The winner of Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin will still get the next crack at UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez, but it may not be for at least another 4 to 5 months.

UFC President Dana White announced during the UFC 131 press conference on Thursday that they had hoped to make the fight happen sooner, but Velasquez is still healing from shoulder surgery.

The proposed plan was originally for the winner of Carwin and Dos Santos to face Velasquez at UFC 136 currently rumored for Houston, Tex. on October 8.

While White didn’t specify the October event, his did say that the heavyweight title fight wasn’t going to happen as soon as they hoped.

Velasquez underwent shoulder surgery following his win over Brock Lesnar last year, but with rehab and recovery time it was expected the champion would be out several months.

Depending on how things go on Saturday night, the winner of Dos Santos and Carwin will then wait for the final word on Velasquez’s health and then a date can be set for the title fight.

The 4 to 5 month timeframe that White mentioned would still fall into the October time range though, so nothing can be ruled out until the UFC makes the official announcement, but the event is in the earliest part of the month, which could rule out Velasquez’s involvement.

The UFC is planning to hold their next Fan Expo in Houston as well, which will take place on Oct 7 & 8.

MMAWeekly.com will have more details on Velasquez’s return to action when it becomes available.

Damon Martin is the lead staff writer and radio host for MMAWeekly.com.
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