When Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez steps into the Octagon on Nov. 15, 2014 at UFC 180 to take on Fabricio Werdum in Mexico City, Mexico, it will be his first fight in over a year, thanks to a bum shoulder.

It will also mark the first time Cain has faced someone not named Antonio Silva or Junior dos Santos in the past three years. Since 2011, Velasquez has fought "Cigano" three times and "Bigfoot" twice; winning four out of five with his lone loss coming to Junior at UFC on FOX 1.

And though Cain likes the change up in preparing for a new challenge in Werdum, he says he doesn't mind fighting the same people over and over again as long as they've earned another shot at the title.

He broke it all down to Bleacher Report:

"It's definitely nice to prepare for someone new, but that doesn't matter to me. Whoever earns a shot, earns the shot and that is who I'm going to fight. I don't care if I have to fight the same guy over and over again, as long as he earned the shot to fight me, then I'm fine with it."

UFC 180 will also mark another first for Velasquez and UFC, as it will be promotion's first time hosting an event south of the border. Though you wouldn't have guessed it, as tickets sold out to the pay-per-view (PPV) event in less than eight hours.

When you couple that with the support Cain and Co. have received during their press tours, the champ can't help but to get a bit excited for the landmark event.

"I'm definitely excited for this one. I've known it was going to happen for a while, and now we are getting closer. The support of the fans here has been great. We did the The Ultimate Fighter: 'Latin America' show, and to finally have the fight here...everything is coming together. This is just the next step for me. I want to keep doing this. I am going to keep winning and staying in this position. For me, the majority of the focus is on fighting here in Mexico City and fighting against Fabricio. He is a tough opponent. He's a guy who already has so much experience, but he's always getting better. He has great jiu-jitsu and good hands as well. It's going to be a good fight."

Other than his first-round knockout (KO) loss to the aforementioned dos Santos, Cain has looked rather unbeatable inside the Octagon.

The champ has also proven to be one of the most technical fighters in all of mixed martial arts (MMA), which says a lot, considering he's fighting in the land of the big men where technique sometimes falls by the wayside. Still, that doesn't mean Velasquez is content where he is.

And in order to avoid the dreaded plateau, Cain says he's always looking to improve in order to stay champ for a very long time.

"I'm always trying to improve and always trying to get better as far as learning new skills and techniques go. I'm not looking to plateau. I'm always working to get better. That's what my focus is on."

Nevertheless, when he steps into the cage against Werdum this November, Cain will be facing another man who has made vast improvements to his fight game over the years.

But will it be enough to defeat the ruler of the heavyweight division?