Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was sentenced to 5 years in prison with time served on Monday stemming from 2022 incident which he pleaded no contest to.
First reported by NBC Bay Area.
On Feb 28, 2022, Velasquez shot at a man accused of molesting his son. During the 11-mile car chase Velasquez fired into the vehicle striking the man’s step father. Velasquez pleaded no contest to charges of felony attempted murder, assault, and weapons charges in California.
The sentencing on Monday comes after multiple delays during which his team negotiated a deal with prosecutors to avoid a life sentence.
During a recent interview with Kyle Kingsbury, the former UFC champion expressed that he felt remorse for what he’d done, and would accept the punishment given.
“I know what I did, and I know what I did was very dangerous to other people. Not just people involved, but to innocent people. I understand what I did and I’m willing to do everything I have to pay that back,” he said.
“Whatever the court feels correct for what I have to do, I’m going to do it with my head up and still be me and not play the blame game. It was me that did that and reacted in that way.”
The former UFC heavyweight champion retired from MMA in 2022 with a 14-3 record as a two-time UFC champion. During that run Velasquez beat a list of legendary fighters and hall of famers including Brock Lesnar, Junior dos Santos, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
