It’s appearing difficult for the former heavyweight champ to remain healthy.

This all sounds a bit familiar. Here we are awaiting the next big heavyweight showdown between two of the greatest fighters in the division’s history…and now it’s been scrapped. Cain Velasquez is out of the main event of UFC 196 and though it may be surprising and even frustrating for many, I view it as a breath of fresh air. Am I glad Velasquez got injured, definitely not. I believe he’s truly one of the greatest heavyweights to ever compete in the sport. That being said, he already fought against the current champion Fabricio Werdum and was soundly defeated. Many want to point to the high altitude of Mexico City effecting Velasquez, but Werdum was fighting in the same cage that night and still was victorious. So why exactly am I even more pumped for UFC 196? Well with Velasquez on the shelf it left the door open for the streaking Stipe Miocic who is stylistically an even more dangerous opponent for the rejuvenated Fabricio Werdum to tackle. It’s a match up we’ve yet to see and that in itself lends to the excitement of this new main event. It’s something we haven’t seen before and that makes matters all the more interesting. But on a more serious note, Velasquez’s injury woes are beginning to become the bane of his existence. Hell, it’s starting to become one of the elements that’s defining his career. But one can’t help but wonder if this situation could have been avoided. Sure, injuries happen all the time in preparations for mixed martial arts bouts, just ask Dominick Cruz. But that being said, the injury rate at Velasquez’s home camp, American Kickboxing Academy or AKA has been pretty much through the roof. AKA has a great stable of fighters including light weight champion Daniel Cormier and middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, not to mention lightweight stand outs Khabib Nurmagomedov and Josh Thomson. Though to many the results of their training speaks to their success you have to consider the fact that each of these men including Velasquez had to take considerable time away from the sport due to potentially career altering injuries. The old mythos that iron sharpens iron is still alive and well in MMA gyms, but it’s an ideology that may be antiquated. It makes no sense to battle it out in the gym, fight your team mates in no holds barred matches and wind up getting injured because of it. These days so many young fighters are avoiding injuries and performing even better in the cage because they’re training smarter and avoiding gym wars leading up to their matches. For AKA and namely Cain Velasquez, training in a different style should certainly be considered. Sure, I don’t know everything that’s going on within their camp, but if all the injuries are a sign, a change needs to happen and happen fast. What are your thoughts on Cain Velasquez’s withdrawal from UFC 196? Let us know in the comments and forums. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron MMA on Facebook and Twitter. Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor and geek culture enthusiast. Follow him on Twitter and keep up with his latest exploits.