Cain Velasquez Would Fight Again On One Condition

Cain Velasquez has not closed the door on fighting again, but he has made clear that the only key that opens it is financial.

Speaking to longtime teammate Josh Thomson, the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion was candid about where his head is at following his release from custody earlier this year.

"There is no wishlist as far as person, but if the money is right, the money is right. It has to be right, and it has to be really good. It has to be really damn good for me to do that," Velasquez said.

Velasquez last competed in February 2019, when Francis Ngannou ended his night in 26 seconds. He was then arrested in 2022 after a shooting involving a man accused of abusing his son, pleaded no contest to attempted murder and assault with a firearm in late 2024, and was sentenced to five years before receiving credit for over 1,200 days already served in custody alongside recognition for his participation in rehabilitation programmes.

When Thomson floated the idea of a fight with Fedor Emelianenko, Velasquez's response reinforced the financial threshold without shifting it. "The money has to make me want to do it because I've said this before, I don't want to do it. I have other interests now, but the money has to make me really want to do it, and I don't think anyone is willing to pay that."

A former two-time UFC heavyweight champion who has been away from competition since 2019, spent years navigating the legal system, and developed interests outside the sport is not the most straightforward commercial proposition for any promotion. Whether MVP MMA, the UFC, or another organisation sees enough value in the Velasquez name to test that threshold remains to be seen.