UFC 207 lost a lot with the withdrawal of the fight between Caín Velásquez and Fabricio Werdum from the main card, but for UFC president Dana White, it was impossible to keep Velásquez after he confessed that he was dealing with severe back pain and would undergo surgery on January 4th.

"Read the interview, to me it doesn't sound like he wants to fight. If you're a fighter and you go out saying you can't stand up for 10 minutes, it's crazy. This is the best organization in the world, he's going to face one of the best in the world. The fight lasts 15 minutes and what are you going to do? It would have been irresponsible for the UFC and any commission to let him fight," he declared during the media day of the event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The organization sent Jeff Nowitzky, Vice President of Athlete Health and Performance, to the consultations with Caín's doctor, and according to what was reported to White, he had trouble even sitting and standing up.

Disappointed but aware that the Nevada Athletic Commission had no choice but to deny him the license, he added: "all fighters claim to have a back injury or a knee or ankle, but they say it after losing a fight. If you do it before, we will remove you from the card."

The promotion tried to find a new opponent for Fabricio to keep him in UFC 207, but they rejected the options presented to them. "There are two ways to say 'no' to a fight: the first is to say 'I don't want to fight him,' the second is to ask for 800 thousand dollars and a percentage of the pay-per-view, and Werdum chose the second option," White explained.

The executive added that the Brazilian made similar demands for a fight against Alistair Overeem in early 2017.

For now, the heavyweight division depends on the date in which Stipe Miocic wants to defend his belt, Velásquez's recovery, and Werdum's willingness, who wants a rematch with the current champion.