Cain Velasquez won’t find out his fate until March after a sentencing hearing for the former UFC heavyweight champion was pushed back from January to March.
The 42-year-old retired fighter plead no-contest to a variety of charges including attempted murder after he was arrested back in 2022 following a high-speed chase where he allegedly fired several rounds from a handgun at a car containing Harry Goularte, a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare owned by his mother.
A motions hearing for Velasquez is still scheduled for Friday, Jan. 24 but his sentencing and probation hearing is now set for March 24.
Velasquez was originally set to stand trial on the charges before he ultimately plead no-contest and he faces a potential penalty anywhere from probation to life in prison, although the latter is highly unlikely given Velasquez’s plea deal with prosecutors.
In the original statement addressing Velasquez’s decision to plead no-contest, which basically means he’s accepting punishment in the case without actually admitting guilt, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office stated specifically that “he faces prison time.”
Velasquez was initially arrested after he fired several rounds from a .40-caliber handgun at the vehicle containing Goularte but ultimately a bullet struck Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender in the arm. He sustained non-life threatening injuries as a result.
When the car chase ended, Velasquez was arrested without incident by the Morgan Hill Police Department and he was hit with a multitude of charges including pre-meditated, attempted murder.
Velasquez spent eight months behind bars after he was arrested and denied bail several times before finally being granted his release on $1 million bond. After his release, Velasquez returned to coaching at American Kickboxing Academy and he also made appearances in the professional wrestling circuit.
Most recently, Velasquez signed onto serve as the manager of the Dubai team represented in the Global Fight League along with his longtime head coach Javier Mendes.
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