Dana White says Cain Velasquez to undergo back surgery, “will probably need four weeks to recover”

Cain Velasquez’s latest injury is going to require surgery, according to UFC President Dana White, but it may not keep him sidelined for too long.

White briefly updated Velasquez’s status during an appearance on “Opie with Jim Norton,” and said the former UFC Heavyweight Champion isn’t expected to miss too much more time with this most recent setback.

“Cain has got problems with a disc in his back, and he’s actually going to have surgery,” White said (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). “The good part is it’s not going to be long. He’s going to have the surgery and will probably need four weeks to recover. So that’s good news.”

Velasquez’s injury kicked off a bit of a chain reaction that resulted in the Feb. 6 event in Las Vegas losing the UFC 196 moniker, and it’s unclear whether or not his planned rematch with Fabricio Werdum will be booked next or not. Velasquez lost to Werdum last June in what was his first fight since October of 2013, and his injury woes have continued to plague him over the last several years.

Penick’s Analysis: Four weeks to recover is a nice number to hear, but that’s likely just before he can get back to full training, and then they’ll need to book another fight, and he’ll have to go through another camp at which his body may or may not hold up. There’s concern for his longevity, but he says pulling out of the fight was something that could help him preserve some of that longevity in order to have a lot more time in his career. It’s hard to believe that’ll be the case at this point, but for now hopefully all goes well with this surgery and we see him back as soon as he’s feeling ready.

[Cain Velasquez art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

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