Prior to Cain Velasquez's next fight, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion has expressed his enjoyment during his coaching experience for the first ever Ultimate Fighter reality series in Latin America.
The Mexican fighter also says that despite his rivalry coaching against challenger Fabricio Werdum, his respect levels towards his opponent never dwindled.
Cain Velasquez's next fight against Fabricio Werdum is scheduled for November 15th at UFC 180, as the promotion company makes its debut in Mexico City. It will be Velasquez's third title defense after winning it back from Junior Dos Santos at UFC 155 in December 2012.
But right before he enters into his upcoming bout, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion spoke about his stint as a coach for The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): Latin America.
For the 32-year old representative of San Jose, California's American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), the experience was no less than fulfilling.
"I wasn't sure going in if I'd like being a coach but I really enjoyed it," Velasquez told Fighters Only. "The guys I helped train had so much hunger to learn and gain as much as they could from their six weeks in the house."
"They didn't just want to fight, they wanted to train," he continued. "They were hungry guys and were grateful just to be on the show so they could represent themselves and their country."
Cain Velasquez will be going up against mixed martial arts veteran Fabricio Werdum. "Vai Cavalo" has had a number of wars dating back to his stint in the now-defunct PRIDE FC organization in Japan.
Despite their rivalry as opposing coaches at TUF, Velasquez admits that the level or respect he has for Werdum never dwindled.
"Me and him are two guys that are respectful and both do our talking in the fight," Velasquez said. "However, there was a little bit of tension between fights because we both cared about our fighters and we both wanted to win. You'll definitely see us fired up, especially in those situations."
