Marc Raimondi from ESPN is reporting that former two-time UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has signed a “lucrative, multi-year” contract with WWE after notifying the UFC that he is officially retired from mixed martial arts.
Raimondi said that Velasquez has been struck off from the UFC’s USADA drug-testing pool and is no longer part of the UFC Heavyweight rankings. Velasquez had 17 professional MMA fights, 15 of which came in the UFC. He has a record of 14-3 and his last fight earlier this year was a loss to Francis Ngannou with a TKO.
Velasquez was also in talks with All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling but after last week’s Smackdown debut, it was pretty evident where he was heading.
An NCAA Division 1 All American, Velasquez impressed in his first two pro wrestling matches for Lucha Libre AAA and committing his future to wrestling sealed the deal for WWE.
His first match will be against Brock Lesnar at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view on October 31 in Saudi Arabia. The match was not announced for the WWE title although that could change.
