Cain Velasquez hasn’t set foot in the octagon in two-and-a-half years, but he’s not exactly getting a warmup fight in his return.

Velasquez (14-2 MMA, 12-2 UFC) meets the ever-dangerous Francis Ngannou (12-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) in the headlining bout of next month’s UFC on ESPN 1 event, which takes place Feb. 17 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. The former UFC heavyweight champion insists it didn’t matter who the UFC matched him up with at the event – he simply wanted the chance to fight in his native Arizona.

“It’s the fight in Phoenix,” Velasquez told MMAjunkie during a media tour in Arizona. “It’s the fight here in Arizona. I’m from Yuma, Ariz. I went to school out here. I went to Arizona State. I competed in Arizona my whole life. I love competing out here, being from Arizona. I’ve always wanted to fight here, as well. Just to have the opportunity to be here and fight in front of my family and friends, to me is just an amazing card to be a part of. I can’t wait for that night.”

Velasquez hasn’t competed since a UFC 200 win over Travis Browne in July 2016. He’s dealt with numerous injuries throughout his professional career, and Velasquez said the time away finally allowed him to address many of those nagging bumps and bruises. But the longtime American Kickboxing Academy product said he was in no rush to return, instead taking time away from MMA to focus on his family – a luxury he didn’t have when his daughter was born nine years ago.

“I’ve had some injuries throughout my career; I got that all squared away and all healed up, and I extended my family, as well,” Velasquez said. “We have a 1-year-old boy. I wanted to be there for the whole pregnancy, for the whole first year. It was kind of hard when we had our daughter. … There was a lot of stuff that I missed that I didn’t like missing. So with the time off, I just got to be with my family.

“There isn’t a lot of people who can take time off for two years, but I had that luxury, and I wanted to be there for my family, which to me was most important. I’m glad I did it. I love just having the time to be there for them.”

Now Velasquez says he’s physically healed and mentally focused, and while the time away from the sport could be seen as a detriment to his timing in the cage, the former champ believes not being in an actual fight camp has allowed him to hone his craft in all areas.

“We’re always trying to evolve,” Velasquez said. “This sport is still so new. We’re trying out different things and trying to get new tools every time – things that fans and also fighters haven’t seen before from me, so I’m always working on that. I’m always working to improve.”

With his extended time away, Velasquez doesn’t currently feature in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings. However, he can certainly make a big splash in his return, with Ngannou sitting at No. 6.

Velasquez’s teammate, Daniel Cormier, is the current UFC heavyweight champion, so there’s no rush to get back into title contention. However, Velasquez knows that with his pedigree and star power, a shot at a title is never far away, especially with Cormier admittedly in what is likely the final year of his career.

But that’s all to worry about at another time. For now, it’s simply about getting back in the cage, and doing so in a place that means the world to Velasquez.

“The game is to improve,” Velasquez said. “I’m always looking to improve. I’ve been in the game for a while, but there’s always room for improvement. You’re just never satisfied – well, at least I’m not.

“I have the fight against Ngannou, I’ve got to go out there, and he presents a lot of dangers, so there’s a lot of things I have to be really tight on my game when I go out there and fight. I’m ready for that.”

To hear more from Velasquez, check out the video above.

For more on UFC on ESPN 1, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.