Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir they are said to finally collide more than 14 years after their original octagon showdown fell apart.
Accordingly Red corner MMAVelasquez and Mir will compete in a wrestling match at the AIGA Global event in November 2026 in California. The two heavyweight legends even came face-to-face, although the exact date, venue and rules have yet to be revealed.
Before anyone gets too excited, it’s probably wise to pump the brakes.
The fight could just be a publicity stunt designed to bring more eye candy to AIGA, especially since neither Velasquez nor Mir are in an ideal position to compete. Until the promotion gives official event details, there is no guarantee that the wrestling match will actually take place.
The bigger concern may be Miri’s physical condition.
47-year-old former champion underwent an emergency nine-hour spinal procedure in early 2025 after a temporary loss of feeling in the legs. Mir later revealed that doctors performed a spinal fusion and laminectomy of his entire thoracic spine, forcing him to relearn basic movements such as walking, sitting and getting into a car. The surgery also canceled his planned MMA comeback Fabricio Werdum.
Mir has always been a remarkably durable badass, but should he really wrestle a former NCAA Division I All-American who built his entire fighting career around relentless takedowns and suffocating top pressure after suffering such a severe injury?
Interestingly, Velasquez and Mir were originally booked to fight UFC 146 in the #1 event May 2012. The fight disappeared after that Alistair Overeem failed a pre-fight drug test, prompting the UFC to put Mir in a title fight Junior dos Santos. Velasquez stayed on the card and was demolished Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva instead of that.
Fourteen years later, AIGA may finally bring them together—assuming it’s more than a well-timed photo opportunity.
