Werdum also out of UFC 196

One day after Cain Velasquez announced that he will not fight in UFC 196 due to an injury - and that Dana White replaced him with Stipe Miocic - Fabricio Werdum, the current UFC Heavyweight World Champion, has also decided to withdraw from the competition due to an injury.

Werdum told Brazilian media, as reported by MMAFighting.com:

"I was already injured. I have a foot injury and I haven't been able to kick in training for two weeks. Either way, I would have fought Cain, because in the previous fight I also got in injured, but last Friday I hurt my back. I went to the doctor, tried to train, but I can't feint like I should."

"I've decided not to fight because I'm not one hundred percent. If Cain was the opponent, I would fight. It's not his fault, it's no one's fault; injuries happen and that's it, you can't avoid them. I had no choice but to make this decision. I don't feel one hundred percent."

"My team and I made the decision. We decided not to fight because Cain won't fight. I was going to hide the injury once again, as I always do, but this time I won't be able to. I won't be one hundred percent ready to put on a show like I always do.

"It took me a long time to get here and win this belt, to be the champion, to throw it away by not being one hundred percent. I have to think things through, I can't act like I'm twenty years old, because that's not the case. Everything has changed, now I'm 38, and even though I feel like I'm in the best moment of my career, I can't risk what I've achieved and risk my career just for pride."

Werdum said he will be back in two or three months and is open to facing either Cain Velasquez or Stipe Miocic.