Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has opened up about the support he received from his AKA teammates, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev, and Daniel Cormier, during the most difficult period of his life.
Speaking ahead of his commentary appearance with IBA in Miami, Velasquez reflected on the bonds formed inside American Kickboxing Academy and what those relationships meant to him when he needed them most.
“They were one of the first ones who really reached out to me,” Velasquez said of his former teammates. “Those guys are the brothers, you know. Once you work out with a certain group of people for so long like that, like in a team sport like that, like AKA, you become brothers. It’s a brotherhood.”
Velasquez credited the depth of those relationships to the years of shared training.
“Some moment in time we spent more time with each other than we did with our own families, so we’re in that grind,” he said. “So that’s what it is, you know, we just truly care for each other, want the best for each other, and we’re always there to support each other.”
As for his personal recovery and return to the sport, Velasquez has been deliberate and patient with himself.
“The most important thing is always, you know, to be with the family, be with my kids, give them the love and support that they need,” he explained. “And then from that, it’s slowly start worrying about myself.”
He described his return to the gym over the past two weeks not as a coaching mission but as a personal one.
“I’m doing it for myself, number one, to work out, to have fun with it again,” he said. “I always love it. Going back like the past two weeks, I understand why I love it so much and what it does for me mentally, spiritually, physically as well.”
The commentary gig itself came together simply. Mike Goldberg reached out to Velasquez, who had worked with IBA once before, roughly two years ago. Velasquez did not hesitate.
“If the legendary Mike Goldberg asks you to do commentary, you’re like, it’s a dream come true,” he said.
