By MIKE JOHNSTONToronto played host to more than just its usual hustle, bustle and stubborn pigeons Thursday. That’s because the new UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez, was in town to do some press. Velasquez met with reporters at Toronto’s Real Sports Bar & Grill downtown and talked about his life after winning the belt as well as his fondness for Canadian MMA fans. Velasquez also met with 10 lucky Canadian fans that won a contest to meet the new champ through ufc.com.
Cain began his UFC career by fighting in Montreal at UFC 83 in 2008 and hopes to one day fighter north of the border again. “They’re great MMA fans here,” said Velasquez. “They always love to watch the fights, so I mean there’s definitely a great following here, great fans, and a great place to fight at.”
Since winning the belt, Velasquez has been busy with media obligations, but said it is starting to sink in that he accomplished his goal of becoming champion. “Bits and pieces have brought it together that I finally did it, but it still feels kind of surreal,” he said.
Cain is a reserved man and is adjusting to being champion rather well, but says it’s taking some getting used to. “Just, anywhere you go, you just sense it. People coming up to you more and more. I’m just trying to get used to it,” said Velasquez. “For me, the reason I got into the sport, well, the only thing I thought I had to do was to train and fight. I didn’t think of the other job aspect to it, the media and the fans and everything else like that. I didn’t put all that together, so I’m still getting used to it.”
A humble champion, Cain hasn’t displayed his new belt on any fancy mantel just yet. “We were back home for like a day, so I just had it on the couch pretty much. I had no place to put it.” Cain said with a smile. “It’s a pain in the butt trying to carry it around because it’s heavy, it’s like over 20 pounds.”
Despite all the added exposure, Cain said he feels no extra pressure to build up or represent the sport any more than he already does. “For me it’s just training and fighting. That’s what my job is, that’s it.”
UFC Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright was also on hand and believes Velasquez’s visit to Toronto just shows how much the sport is growing in Canada. “It helps us keep the momentum going,” said Wright. “The UFC is the fastest growing sport organization ever and it’s because of athletes like Cain, athletes like Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva. We’ve got great athletes that are fundamental to our sport.
“But having Cain here, this morning we were on CP24, we were on E-Talk, I did a Radio Canada promotion, we’ve done Sportsnet, we’ve done TSN, and what it does is again put our athletes on the same level as a Tiger Woods, as a NBA player, an NFL player and whomever and that’s really important.”
Stay tuned to CanadianProFighter.com for an exclusive 1-on-1 interview with Velasquez. For more MMA news and notes follow me on Twitter @MikeyJ_MMA.
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