Breaking! Cain Velasquez officially signs with WWE, retires from MMA

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has officially signed a big-money, multi-year contract with the WWE. The deal will be announced at a press conference Friday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Marc Raimondi of ESPN confirmed the news.

Sources: Cain Velasquez retires from UFC, joins WWE https://t.co/VGn2xzflNn

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) October 11, 2019

Velasquez has also informed the UFC that he has officially decided to retire from MMA. Earlier this week we heard that Velasquez had been removed from the USADA testing pool and from the UFC rankings, which seemed to indicate he was done with the sport of mixed martial arts. With today’s news now official, we have that answer.

According to Raimondi, Velasquez is set to wrestle against Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel on October 31 in Saudi Arabia. Also on the card is a matchup between boxer Tyson Fury and wrestler Braun Strowman. Velasquez famously fought Lesnar back at UFC 121 in October 2010, winning the UFC heavyweight title with a first-round TKO victory.

Brock Lesnar vs. Cain Velasquez and Tyson Fury vs. Braun Strowman are official for WWE Crown Jewel on Oct. 31 in Saudi Arabia.

— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) October 11, 2019

One of the greatest heavyweights in UFC history, Velasquez has turned heads with his performances so far in the wrestling ring. He made a few appearances in the Mexican AAA promotion that got him noticed by the WWE’s talent executives and last week he made his WWE debut against Lesnar, setting up this big match at WWE Crown Jewel.

Velasquez will retire from MMA with a 14-3 record including a 12-3 mark inside the Octagon. He was a two-time UFC heavyweight champion, beating Lesnar for his first title and then knocking out rival Junior dos Santos for his second championship.

Although injuries derailed his MMA career, Velasquez will go down as one of the most dominant heavyweight champions in UFC history. UFC president Dana White has yet to make a comment about Velasquez retiring from the promotion, but he will likely do so soon. It’s possible Velasquez could be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame one day, as well.

What do you make of Cain Velasquez moving to WWE full-time?