Cain Velasquez: Former UFC heavyweight champion receives five-year prison sentence for attempted murder

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been sentenced to five years in prison for attempted murder. This follows Velasquez's arrest in California in 2022 for a shooting incident, and his subsequent no contest plea in August of last year to attempted murder, felony assault, and other related firearm charges.

Velasquez, 42, fired shots at a vehicle carrying three people, including 46-year-old Harry Goularte. The shooting resulted in injuries to another man in the vehicle, who suffered wounds to his arm and torso. According to the District Attorney's office, Goularte was Velasquez's intended target, and he himself is facing felony charges of child molestation, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Velasquez's defense attorney, Reneé Hessling, called the sentencing "bittersweet" as she had hoped to avoid imprisonment for Velasquez. Velasquez has been under house arrest since last November and has already served 1283 days, which will reduce his sentence.

In a statement, Hessling said, "Throughout, Cain has shown courage and strength of character. He has taken responsibility for his actions and been held accountable. Today's sentence reflects the complexities of the case and recognizes the person behind the headlines." In a recent Kyle Kingsbury Podcast interview, Velasquez also acknowledged his responsibility, saying, "We can't take the law into our own hands, I know what I did, I know what I did was very dangerous to other people, not just the people involved, innocent people as well. I understand what I did, and I'm willing to do whatever I can to make up for that."

During the 11-mile car chase, Velasquez fired a handgun multiple times, resulting in Paul Bender being injured in the shooting. Velasquez participated in 15 fights in the UFC, winning the heavyweight title twice, defeating Brock Lesnar and Junior dos Santos respectively. The California native retired after being defeated by Francis Ngannou in 2019, with a record of 14 wins and 3 losses.