Cain and WWE reach an agreement.
Marc Raimondi of ESPN reports that Cain Velasquez has signed a multi-year deal with WWE, signaling that he is now a full-time professional wrestler. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but Raimondi reports the deal is "lucrative." Cain also notified UFC of his decision to retire.
WWE has confirmed the report, officially announcing Velasquez signing with the promotion.
Cain made an appearance on the Oct. 4 episode of SmackDown, showing up at the end of the night to confront WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. Shortly after his appearance, it was reported that the former UFC Heavyweight Champion had yet to sign a contract with the promotion, but the two sides were in advanced talks. It was also reported that Cain informed the UFC of his intention to withdraw from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) testing pool, signaling that he intended to retire from MMA. Velasquez still has multiple fights left on his UFC contract. Velasquez last fought in February, losing to Francis Ngannou in 26-seconds by TKO.
On Friday afternoon it was announced that Velasquez would be facing Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel on Oct. 31. It was not confirmed if Lesnar's WWE Championship would be on the line. The two previously met inside the Octagon in 2010 with Velasquez winning by first-round stoppage.
Also announced for the show is boxing champion Tyson Fury taking on Braun Strowman.
