Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday after pleading no-contest to charges related a 2022 shooting.
Velasquez, 42, was accused of discharging a firearm at a vehicle containing three people including the intended victim Harry Goularte who according to numerous reports is facing felony child molestation charges to which he denies. Another man was struck in the arm and torso by bullets fired by Velasquez during an 11-mile car chase.
Prosecutors had requested 30 years imprisonment for the mixed martial arts fighter but he will serve a much reduced sentence, with credit of around 1283 days for time served. As a result, Velasquez will likely serve less than two years from the date of his formal sentencing.
Speaking on the podcast of former UFC fighter Kyle Kingsbury in advance of the sentencing, Velasquez said that he understood that his actions were wrong.
“We cannot put the law in our own hands, I know what I did, and I know what I did was very dangerous to other people,” he said.
“Not just people involved, but innocent people. I understand what I did and I’m willing to do everything I have to [do] to pay that back.”
Velasquez, a long-time member of the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, California, is regarded as one of the best heavyweight mixed martial arts fighters in history. Throughout his career, he won bouts against Brock Lesnar, Junior Dos Santos and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
He retired from the sport following a February 2019 loss to Francis Ngannou.
