Cain Velasquez is a free man. The former two-time UFC heavyweight champion was released from prison on Sunday after serving the last 11 months behind bars following a controversial 2022 shooting conviction.
Velasquez, 43, was sentenced to five years in prison in San Jose, California, on March 24, 2025, after being found guilty of attempted murder and other charges, ending a three-year saga that was repeatedly delayed in the courts and sparked widespread anger within the mixed martial arts community. Velasquez’s sentence included the[inmoqdi;l-ekschampionqatta’kważisenaħabswaral-inċidenttal-2022kifukollkważisentejnarrestatf’darub’monitertal-għaksa
Velasquez inizjalment ffaċċja 10 akkużi ta’ reat wara li kien involut f’ġiri b’karozza b’veloċità għolja ta’ 11-il mil ma’ Harry Goularte, li jibqa’ akkużat li molesta lit-tifel ta’ Velasquez ta’ dak iż-żmien ta’ 4 snin f’“diversi okkażjonijiet”. Velasquez spara diversi tiri minn ġol-windskrin tiegħu minn handgun ta’ kalibru .40 waqt il-ġiri f’karozza li kienet qed iġorr lil Goularte, omm Goularte u l-patri ta’ Goularte, Paul Bender, u rriżultaw fi ġrieħi li ma kinux ta’ theddida għall-ħajja lil Bender minħabba ferita ta’ arma tan-nar f’driegħu.
Riklam
L-10 akkużi ta’ Velasquez kienu jvarjaw minn attentat ta’ qtil, sparar fuq vettura bil-mutur jew inġenju tal-ajru, attakk b’arma tan-nar, attakk b’arma fatali, ħelsien volontarju ta’ arma tan-nar minn vettura u ġarr ta’ arma tan-nar mgħobbija bl-intenzjoni li twettaq reat. Velasquez ma kkontestax l-akkużi kollha.
Goularte bħalissa qed jistenna data tal-bidu tad-9 ta’ Marzu għall-proċess tiegħu stess wara li wieġeb mhux ħati ta’ akkuża waħda ta’ reat ta’ atti lewdi ma’ minorenni.
Il-familja ta’ Velasquez fetħet kawża ċivili separata kontra l-familja Goularte u n-negozji tagħha.
Qabel il-ħabs tiegħu, Velasquez esprima rimors għall-azzjonijiet tiegħu u aċċetta kwalunkwe kastig li ġielu. Velasquez qal ukoll li kien[aferlill-familjata’Goularteg[aldakli;ara;OmmGoulartekienettmexxil-daycarefejnseħħetl-allegatmolestazzjoni
Riklam
“Dak li għamilt ma kienx korrett,” qal Velasquez. “Jien nifhem dan. Ħallast u nħallas kull ħaġa oħra sa fejn għandi nagħmel biex inħallas dak kollu lura. Ma naħsibx li nista’ nħallas lura, iżda dejjem nista’ nitgħallem mill-iżbalji tiegħi u ngħin lill-oħrajn. Hija biss informazzjoni li qatt ma taf lil ħadd. Afda lit-tfal tiegħek. Agħmel dik il-komunikazzjoni miftuħa mat-tfal tiegħek.
“[But] the way I handled things was not the way I do it. We cannot put the law in our 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 in 2012 with a revenge victory over Junior dos Santos. A prodigious talent whose career was perennially snakebitten by injuries, Velasquez defended his championship twice with victories over Antonio Silva and in a trilogy against dos Santos, before suffering a defeat in 2015 against Fabricio Werdum. Velasquez fought just two more times — once in 2016 and once in 2019 — before walking away from MMA altogether.
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.