Cain Velasquez And Tyson Fury Making In-Ring Debuts For WWE At Crown Jewel In Saudi Arabia

WWE has confirmed two high-profile matches for its upcoming and controversial show in Saudi Arabia that will see two combat athletes trade in gloves for tights.

The announcement came during a press conference Friday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas ahead of Friday Night SmackDown and the start of the 2019 WWE Draft. WWE revealed former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez and undefeated lineal heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury will be stepping into a WWE ring as part of WWE Crown Jewel at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 31.

Both men made their first appearance on WWE TV as part of SmackDown's premiere episode on FOX.

Velasquez will be challenging WWE Champion Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel, though the title will not be defended. Meanwhile, Fury will be facing WWE’s resident “monster among men” Braun Strowman in a singles match.

This will be a rematch of sorts of UFC 121 where Velasquez beat Lesnar to become UFC heavyweight champion. He would trade the championship with Junior dos Santos in 2012 and go on to hold the title until losing it to Fabrício Werdum in 2015. His last fight in the octagon was in a losing effort to Francis Ngannou in February.

ESPN reported this will be the first match in a “lucrative,” multiyear deal Velasquez signed with WWE. He has notified UFC of his retirement.

This won’t be the first time Velasquez has stepped into a wrestling ring. He made his in-ring wrestling debut as part of Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide Triplemania XXVII in August, teaming with Psycho Clown and Cody Rhodes. Video quickly appeared online of the former UFC fighter in the match, earning praise from fans online.

Fury’s deal, on the other hand, is expected to be short term as he is only confirmed to be facing Strowman at Crown Jewel. Fury already has been scheduled for February 2020 for a fight with Deontay Wilder in a rematch from their December 2018 bout. Fury’s training camp has expressed concerns to ESPN about a cut he suffered above his right eye in his fight with Otto Wallin opening back up during the match with Strowman.

WWE Crown Jewel is the second event held in Saudi Arabia of the same name and the fourth event as part of WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority. The company has faced heavy criticism since the deal was signed in 2018, given Saudi Arabia’s history of repression and human rights violations. It intensified ahead of 2018’s Crown Jewel event as it followed the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was an outspoken critic of the Saudi government.