After former UFC champion Cain Velasquez was forced to withdraw from another title fight, fans and pundits alike were disappointed with the outcome and the delayed title fight against champ Fabricio Werdum. However, American Kickboxing Academy head coach Javier Mendez revealed that Velasquez is already recovering after going under the knife.

"Cain is all right now, he just had a spinal surgery and feels good." Mendez told BloodyElbow.

While AKA has come under fire for its hard line approach to sparring and training in general, Mendez is uncertain as to how the former champion injured his back.

"I don't know how he injured his back," said Mendez, "I only know that his bone spurs are affecting the sciatic nerve. I can't say what is the reason that he gets hurt. Maybe it's just the reality of our sport that demands a lot from the fighter."

Mendez also added that Cain attempted to continue his training camp despite severe pain:

"He was going to fight with the injury," added Mendez. "Doctors gave him a shot of Cortisone and told Cain to wait 6-7 days before training hard. So while he was hurt he was still training. But on the 6th day the Cortisone stopped working and Cain felt a severe pain. He contacted the doctors, but they told him that another shot of Cortisone would not work. That was the moment when he canceled the fight".