Cain Velasquez is falling in love with professional wrestling all over again.

The two-time UFC heavyweight champion, who is of Mexican descent, grew up a fan of the lucha libre style of wrestling. He remembers being 5 years old and going with his family to see the shows and playing with wrestling action figures, wanting to be a part of it one day.

He finally is.

Velasquez, 37, took a break from the Octagon to try his hand at wrestling after his first-round, knockout loss to Francis Ngannou in February, during which he injured his knee. He made his in-ring debut — as “El Toro” — with Lucha Libre Worldwide AAA as part of a six-man tag match at Triplemania XXVII, lucha libre’s version of WrestleMania, in Mexico City on Aug. 3.

Velasquez returns to the squared circle for his US debut in AAA’s “Invading NY” at Madison Square Garden’s Theater on Sept. 15, streaming at 6 p.m. ET (PPV or FITE app).

He will team with Brian Cage and Psycho Clown to take on Texano Jr., Taurus and Scorpion King in another six-man tag match. The card also includes the Lucha Brothers and LAX tag teams and Impact star Tessa Blanchard. Velasquez can’t help but think of the kid who fell in love with pro wrestling as his journey in it continues.

“For me this is kind of reliving my childhood, just having fun with it,” Velasquez said in a phone interview. “The show in August was great. I had a blast doing it. I wasn’t sure how people would react. I wasn’t sure how I would like it, going and performing. It was amazing and a dream.”

Velasquez’s performance, which showcased his athleticism and some surprising acrobatics by the 6-foot-2, 250-pounder, earned rave reviews around the wrestling world. That included All Elite Wrestling’s Cody Rhodes, one of Velasquez’s partners in the match, telling ESPN that the mixed martial artist “should not have been that good … but he was.” WWE superstar Big E said on “The A-Side Chat” that “[Velasquez] was doing lucha spots and hurricanranas, and it was incredible.” Velasquez said he was unsure how people would react, but the positive feedback put him “in shock.”

“I know what I can do as far as how athletic I can be and things that I could do, and I think that surprised a lot of people,” said Velasquez, who is also scheduled to appear at AAA’s show at The Forum outside Los Angeles on Oct. 13. “You wouldn’t know that I would be doing the hardcore Lucha hurricanranas or the the arm drag off the ropes.”

Velasquez, who said he isn’t done fighting in the UFC, wore a bull-horned mask for the match — a common practice for lucha libre wrestlers — to pay homage to the sport’s legacy. He said when he pictured himself wrestling as a kid, he only saw himself doing it in the mask. It’s something he wants to continue to do while wrestling for AAA, but he will take it off afterwards to interact with the audience.

“For me it holds a special place,” he said.

Velasquez, who thinks he isn’t “far at all” from his first singles match, said his wife, Michelle, and two kids have enjoyed being around wrestling and attending the shows. It is a different experience than MMA, where you can only truly celebrate after you’ve won. Velasquez, who was known for being stoic in the UFC, said it will take him more matches to finally feel comfortable “letting loose” in the ring. Even so, he is enjoying his freedom to do so.

“When everything finishes [in MMA], then I can acknowledge the crowd, then I can celebrate it,” Velasquez said. “Then I can be happy. Then all that pressure, everything is out the window because I’ve gone out there and done my job. With this, beforehand I can go out there and have fun as I’m there wrestling.”

The itch to finally give pro wrestling a try started in February 2018 when he attended WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view with friend and former training partner Daniel Cormier — who has held the UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight titles — and members of his AKA training team to see Ronda Rousey’s on-screen WWE contract signing. With a little push from his wife, he began training at the WWE Performance Center in July 2018 during an injury layoff from the UFC.

“I liked it right away because it was something new for me to learn,” he said

Velasquez, who ensured his new UFC contract allows him to dabble in pro wrestling, has begun to immerse himself in it. He said he watches matches from all eras every day and he is being helped by WCW veteran Konnan. It’s mostly to find moves with some difficulty that he thinks he can do in the ring. He hopes to team up with Cormier, a wrestling fanatic in his own right, for at least one match to form what he called “the ultimate tag team”

Velasquez recently attended a New Japan Pro-Wrestling show and watched AEW’s “All Out” pay-per-view over Labor Day weekend. He said joining a promotion of that level, including WWE, down the road is in the back of his mind. He’s impressed with what he’s seeing.

“I thought it was pretty badass what they did there,” Velasquez said of “All Out.”

“I like what [AEW is] doing with the whole organization. I just started watching a little bit of New Japan.”

When AAA’s show at The Forum is over, Velasquez will evaluate the lay of the land and decide what’s next. He continues to balance training for MMA and wrestling, and insists he isn’t done fighting for real.

Velasquez did admit there could come a time where he is strictly a pro wrestler. That just isn’t right now. He is planning a return to MMA in 2020, but injuries have limited him to just three UFC fights since 2013.

“I could see myself doing that, yeah, I could,” he said of just doing pro wrestling. “I still get to train MMA. I still get to go into AKA and do all that stuff, but I still see myself fighting as well.”

Until then, he’s going to continue to enjoy what he’s doing. Velasquez is living the dream of his 5-year-old self, being one of the wrestlers under the mask he grew up watching — becoming a fan all over again.

“We’re taking my kids and my wife to these [wrestling] events, and they’re loving it, too,” Velasquez said. “I’m trying to get exposed to as much as I can and again learn as much as I can just to kind of perfect this craft.”