UFC's Cain Velasquez Expresses Interest in Both WWE and AEW

Cain Velasquez, a two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion, made his professional wrestling debut for the Mexican promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide back in early August at their TripleMania XXVII event. The big man shocked fans with how good he looked inside the ring, pulling off a win alongside AEW's Cody Rhodes and AAA's Psycho Clown in a six-man tag match. He's currently signed to a few more matches for AAA, but fans are already curious which major promotion he might sign with here in the United States.

Velasquez appeared on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show on Monday and seemingly left the door open for both WWE and AEW.

"We've been in talks with them [WWE]," Velasquez said "They're going pretty good. We'll see."

He then added that he's also had discussions with Rhodes, who doubles as an AEW wrestler and an executive vice president for the company.

"I've talked to him [Cody] a little bit, I want to talk to him a little more," he said. "I think they are doing great things, I think AEW is doing some really cool things."

Velasquez said he was a fan of lucha libre wrestling as a kid, mentioning iconic luchadores like Blue Demon and Mil Mascaras. But it wasn't until 2018 where he visited WWE's Performance Center and realized he had a natural talent for the squared circle.

"If I was going to do this, I had to go and re-live my childhood and do what made me fall in love with the sport in the first place, the lucha style of wrestling with the mask," Valsquez said while showing off the black mask he chose as a luchador.

Velasquez is still under contract with UFC, but hasn't fought since February (a TKO loss to Francis Ngannou at a UFC on ESPN show). He has his fair share of history with WWE's Brock Lesnar, as he was the one who beat "The Beast" for the UFC Heavyweight Championship back in 2010 with a first-round TKO.

Other MMA fighters who have stepped inside the world of pro wrestling in recent years includes Matt Riddle, Ronda Rousey, Tito Ortiz, Rampage Jackson, Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, Marina Shafir and Sonya Deville.

Velasquez's next wrestling match will take place at the Lucha Invade NY event on Sunday at Madison Square Garden's Hulu Theater. He'll team with Brian Cage and Psycho Clown for another six-man tag match.

Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images