Cain Velasquez's next fight has been held off due to injury, and this is the champion's prime setback to achieve greatness, according to his trainer and American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) head coach Javier Mendez. The fighter's mentor also says that the "Greatest of All Time" tag for Velasquez will have to wait.

Cain Velasquez's next fight was originally slated for UFC 180 on November 15 in Mexico City, but the heavyweight champion was forced out of the contest after suffering a torn meniscus during training. Replacing him is mixed martial arts veteran Mark Hunt, as he faces Velasquez's original opponent Fabricio Werdum, for an interim title fight.

While there is no word about when Cain Velasquez's next fight will be, the fighter's trainer Javier Mendez made an appearance on The MMA Hour show and spoke about what he thought were the primary concerns regarding the champ's injuries.

"What I do think is this, had he never gotten injured, he'd be the greatest heavyweight of all time right now; because of what the guy can do," Mendez said. "What I do believe, is that it will take longer for people to recognize him as the greatest, you know, because of the injuries."

Cain Velasquez has been the most dominant heavyweight in recent UFC history. While he did lose the title in November 2011 against Junior Dos Santos, he did win it back a year after, and has defended successfully since then.

UFC President Dana White even considered Velasquez's as "the UFC's next big star."

"I wouldn't even go to Mexico without Cain Velasquez," White said in a June interview with Yahoo! Sports. "Cain Velasquez is a huge star, too. When you have an entire country that's going to follow and support you, there's nothing bigger than that."

But for Javier Mendez, his fighter would still have to earn his way up to becoming the "Greatest heavyweight of All Time."

"So, he is still going to hit that goal of the greatest of all time, but obviously we can't hit him with that label right now," Mendez said. "Not yet. He needs more fights I think. But he will get there, it is just going to take a little longer."