Fabricio Werdum knows that the rematch against Caín Velásquez will come someday, but for now, he has to get the Mexican fighter out of his mind and focus on defending the title against Stipe Miocic on May 14th in the main event of UFC 198.

The event will take place in Curitiba, where the Brazilian will be the local in the Arena da Baixada, a football stadium with a retractable roof, where an impressive atmosphere is expected.

"Now I am excited about the future, 45 thousand people, fighting in my country. I am happy that UFC organized everything to make it an impressive fight; Vitor Belfort and Jacaré (Ronaldo Souza) will be there, and of course, I am very happy to defend the title in my home, with the people, the fans cheering for me," he said in an interview with La Afición.

His opponent, Miocic, has been claiming a title shot since November 2014, when Werdum faced Mark Hunt, who replaced Velásquez due to injury and, coincidentally, ended up fighting for the title due to another injury of the former champion.

"I am sad about Caín Velásquez's injury, we are opponents but I don't wish him ill, it's a shame that it happened to him. I also had a problem in my back and foot, which was not enough to stop the fight, but the foot injury was serious," explained Werdum, who, like Velásquez, had to withdraw from the original UFC 196 card to recover.

Many people criticized his decision to withdraw a few hours after Miocic was announced as a replacement, but he assured that "if I weren't injured, I would have taken the fight, but the thing is that all heavyweight fighters are dangerous. People talk a lot, saying that some are bad, but he is tough, he is my height and very talented, but I can't think about him, I think about myself, about how I can have a good fight," valued the Brazilian.

Although a second fight with Velásquez is in Werdum's plans, he tries to get it out of his mind until the right time comes, as he has learned from the mistakes of other heavyweight champions.

"I don't think about Caín now; maybe after I beat Miocic, because I have seen many fighters, like Junior Dos Santos, Andrei Arlovski, talk too soon and lose their fights, I don't want to see that happen to me," he concluded.

Upcoming numbered events

UFC 197

Daniel Cormier vs. Jon Jones

Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo

April 23, Las Vegas

UFC 198

Fabricio Werdum vs. Stipe Miocic

May 14, Curitiba

UFC 199

Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman

Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber

June 4, Los Angeles