Cain Velasquez comes from the same team as Daniel Cormier, and the former UFC Heavyweight Champion may have the same problem as the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix winner, as well.
The medical suspension report from this past weekend's UFC 146 fight card in Las Vegas shows that Velasquez may have broken his left hand during his TKO victory over Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva in the co-main event, and will require an x-ray exam to determine the extent of his injury. If Velasquez's hand does turn out to be broken, the former champ will be suspended until November 20.
Given that Dana White has declared that Velasquez deserves the next shot at Junior dos Santos and the UFC Heavyweight Championship, a possible injury could definitely throw a wrench in the UFC's plans for the heavyweight title.
Dos Santos received no medical suspension following his UFC Heavyweight Championship title defense against former champion Frank Mir, and will likely be ready for another challenger sooner rather than later. However, if the designated top contender is unavailable, then White and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva will likely have a tough decision on their hands.
Like his American Kickboxing Academy teammate Velasquez, Cormier injured his hand against "Bigfoot" Silva when they fought in the semifinals of the Heavyweight Grand Prix, and following his win over Josh Barnett, the former Olympic wrestler will have hand surgery to address the issue. That - along with a contractual obligation to fight once more in Strikeforce before he moves to the UFC - takes him out of the running to be the next opponent for dos Santos.
That doesn't leave many available options. Two of the other victorious heavyweights from Saturday night's card - Roy Nelson and Stefan Struve - have already faced dos Santos and lost, and the third, undefeated Stipe Miocic, isn't quite ready for a title shot. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira returns to action at UFC 149 against Cheick Kongo, but given that "Minotauro" is dos Santos' mentor and jiu-jitsu coach, that bout isn't happening anytime soon.
The man to keep an eye on? Fabricio Werdum.
Werdum made his UFC return in February with a win over Nelson in the "Fight of the Night" at UFC 143, and has lost just once in his last five fights, that being a loss to Alistair Overeem in the quarterfinals of the Heavyweight Grand Prix. The first fighter ever to score a decisive victory over Fedor Emelianenko, Werdum will take on the 15-1 Mike Russow in June at UFC 147, and a win there could put him in prime position to challenge dos Santos for the title.
All of this, of course, will depend on Velasquez's x-ray. If his hand isn't broken, expect him to get a rematch with dos Santos in the fall. If not, keep an eye on Werdum at UFC 147 to put himself in position for the title shot.