Travis Browne Defends UFC 200 Opponent Cain Velasquez

Generally when two men are scheduled to fight each other, you would expect them to have some sense of animosity towards each other, a la Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier.

For Travis Browne (18-3-1, 14 KO), seventh in the UFC Heavyweight rankings, there seems to be only respect for his future opponent, top ranked contender, Cain Velasquez.  While attending a press conference for the milestone UFC event, the media continued to bash Velasquez (13-2, 11 KO).

Browne defended his opponent from the media onslaught, “Cain, whether he’s hurt or not, he’s still one of the most dangerous men in the world.  He ran our division for years.”

Velasquez has come under fire by members of the media for being ravaged by injuries the past few years.  Browne continued, “The guy, you see it in his fights, he puts it all out there. You have to respect him for that. So, how do you knock him for doing what got him to that spot in the first place? That’s his mentality. That’s him as a fighter, that’s him as a man, you know? How do you demonize that? That’s what got him there.

“That’s what made everyone love him as the dominant champ he is.  And now because he’s getting injured, people are hating him for it it’s like, what are you guys doing?  That’s what got you to love him in the first place.”

Browne ended his statement by saying, “Fair or unfair, its happening.  That’s the sad part.”

Velasquez has won the UFC Heavyweight Title on two different occasions, at UFC 121 in 2010, he defeated Brock Lesnar by TKO in the first round.  Velasquez’s reign was short lived as he was knocked out by Junior Dos Santos in his very next fight at UFC on FOX 1, the debut of the UFC on Fox.

He reclaimed his title at UFC 155 by earning an unanimous decision over Dos Santos.  Velasquez defended this title twice, beating Antônio Silva and then Dos Santos again.  Velasquez lost the title at UFC 188 to Fabricio Werdum.

UFC 200 will take place July 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The main event of the evening will be Jones-Cormier II, for the Light Heavyweight Championship.  The fight will unify the championship belt, as Cormier (17-1, 6 KO) is the current champion after Jones (22-1, 9 KO) was stripped of it following a hit-and-run accident in New Mexico.  Jones won the interim title after Cormier pulled out of their scheduled fight at UFC 197.  Jones defeated Ovince St. Preux at UFC 197 to win the interim belt.

Other fights for the event include:

Miesha Tate (18-5), the current Women’s Bantamweight Champion, will fight top contender Amanda Nunes (12-4) in championship bout.

A middleweight bout between Gegard Mousasi (8-0) and Derek Brunson (15-4)

A welterweight bout between Johny Hendricks (17-4) and Kelvin Gastelum (11-2)

Three lightweight bouts between Joe Lauzon (25-11) and Diego Sanchez (26-8), Takanori Gomi (35-11-1) and Jim Miller (25-8-1), and also Sage Northcutt (7-1) and Enrique Marin (9-3)

A women’s bantamweight bout between Cat Zingano (9-1) and Julianna Peña (7-2).

PHOTO: BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 17: Travis Browne looks on during his heavyweight bout against Matt Mitrione (not pictured) during UFC Fight Night 81 at TD Banknorth Garden on January 17, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Article by Nick Vigliotti