Cain Velasquez was touted as the next heavyweight phenom to succeed Fedor Emelianenko. Aside from the shocking first round KO loss to Junior dos Santos in 2011, the American Kickboxing Academy protege had looked unstoppable inside the Octagon. It was outside the Octagon that proved to be Velasquez' biggest challenge.
The former two-time champion has nursed injuries on-and-off for the past three years, and UFC 200 will mark another full year of absence from the ring.
The Mexican-American was originally scheduled to rematch Fabricio Werdum in February - Werdum submitted Cain at UFC 188 to become the new heavyweight champion - but another injury forced Velasquez onto the sidelines.