Matching, skipping, and capturing, all in one shot:

next unless /version[: ]+([0-9.]+)/i;
print "-$1\n";
[download]

Using the /i option on the match saves you from worrying about whether it's Version, VERSION, or version.

I'm assuming you don't care at all what comes before VERSION, or after the number, so I'm ignoring all of that...

If the line really starts with -, and that's required, you could use:

next unless /^-.*?version[: ]+([0-9.]+)/i;
print "-$1\n";
[download]

--
Mike