Cain Velasquez is heading to prison. The former two-time UFC heavyweight champion was sentenced to five years for attempted murder and other charges at a hearing Monday at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose, California, 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 verdict Monday.
Velasquez, 42, faced 10 felony charges stemming from a 2022 incident in which he allegedly 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 through his windshield 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. Photos showing Goularte’s truck lined with bullet holes were presented again to the court before Monday’s sentencing.
Velasquez’s 10 charges ranged from attempted murder, shooting at a motor vehicle or aircraft, assault with a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon, willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony.
Velasquez pleaded no contest to all charges related to his case. Prosecutors sought a sentence of 30 years to life for Velasquez, while the defense hoped to attain time served and probation. Impact statements from Velasquez, his wife and his 15-year-old daughter were delivered before Monday’s proceedings, according to local reports, with Velasquez’s daughter pleading the court to allow the former UFC star to attend her high-school soccer games. Statements from Harry Goularte and the Goularte family were also read.
“My dad has always been my biggest supporter. My dad is why I’m strong as a person. He has the biggest heart,” Velasquez’s daughter said.
Velasquez’s sentence includes time served. The former champ spent nearly one year incarcerated following the 2022 incident as well as nearly two years on house arrest with an ankle monitor.
Local outlet KRON4 reported that Bocanegra was emotional and “had tears in his eyes” as he delivered Velasquez’s sentence.
Goularte currently awaits his own June 2 trial date after pleading not guilty to one charge of lewd acts with a minor.
Velasquez’s family has filed a separate civil lawsuit against the Goularte family and their businesses.
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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