UFC legend Cain Velasquez sentenced to 5 years in prison for 2022 shooting
Cain Velasquez is heading to prison. The former two-time UFC heavyweight champion was sentenced to five years of prison time at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose on Monday, ending a three-year saga that has been repeatedly delayed in the courts.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Arthur Bocanegra oversaw the case. NBC Bay Area first reported the news Monday.
Velasquez, 42, faced 10 felony charges stemming from a 2022 incident in which he engaged in an 11-mile high-speed car chase with Harry Goularte, who is accused of molesting Velasquez's then 4-year-old son on “multiple occasions." Velasquez fired several shots from a .40-caliber handgun during the chase into a car carrying Goularte, Goularte's mother and Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender, resulting in non-life threatening injuries to Bender due to a gunshot wound to his arm.
Velasquez pleaded no contest to all charges related to his case.
Speaking recently on the podcast of former teammate Kyle Kingsbury, Velasquez expressed remorse for his actions and accepted whatever punishment came his way. Velasquez also said he has forgiven Goularte’s family for what happened; Goularte’s mother ran the daycare where the alleged molestation happened.
“What I did was not correct," Velasquez said. “I understand that. I paid and I’ll pay whatever else as far as what I have to do to pay all that back. I don’t think I can pay that back, but I can always learn from my mistakes and help others. It’s just information that you never know anybody. Trust your kids. Have that open communication with your kids.
“[But] the way that I handled things was not the way to do it. We cannot put the law in our own hands."
Velasquez (14-3) is one of the most decorated heavyweights of his era. He first captured the UFC heavyweight title in 2010 with a first-round knockout of Brock Lesnar, then won the belt back again in 2012 with a revenge win over Junior dos Santos. A prodigious talent whose career was perennially snakebitten by injuries, Velasquez defended his championship twice with wins over Antonio Silva and in a trilogy bout against dos Santos, before suffering a 2015 loss to Fabricio Werdum. Velasquez only fought twice more — once in 2016 and once in 2019 — before stepping away from MMA entirely.
Velasquez then briefly pursued professional wrestling and even signed with WWE from 2019-20 before being released from his deal due to financial cuts during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Velasquez was expected to serve as the manager of Team Dubai for the Global Fight League's debut season in 2025, alongside his longtime coach at San Jose's American Kickboxing Academy, Javier Mendez. That obviously will no longer happen in light of Monday's news.
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