Ex-UFC Champ Cain Velasquez Issues Statement After Arrest on Attempted Murder Charge

AP Photo/Juan DeLeon

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has issued a statement for the first time since being arrested on an attempted murder charge. 

In a statement on Twitter, Velasquez thanked his supporters and called the story of the shooting "complex and slowly unraveling as we speak."

TMZ Sports reported March 1 that Velasquez was arrested in San Jose and booked on an attempted murder charge for a shooting near a local high school. One person was shot.

Per Robert Salonga of the Mercury News, Velasquez shot at a man who had recently been charged with molesting a close relative of the former mixed martial arts star. 

"Velasquez’s shots wounded the defendant’s stepfather in the encounter off Monterey Highway and Bailey Avenue on the southern edges of San Jose, multiple law-enforcement sources confirmed," Salonga wrote. 

Velasquez was formally charged with attempted murder, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle or aircraft, three counts of assault with a firearm, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony.

Per court documents obtained by ESPN's Marc Raimondi, Velasquez could face more than 20 years of jail time if he is convicted on all charges. 

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According to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office (h/t Raimondi), Velasquez was following Harry Eugene Goularte's truck in an "11-mile, high-speed chase" when he rammed into the truck with his vehicle "and then fired a 40-caliber handgun multiple times into the truck, which carried Goularte and two older relatives."

Paul Bender, Goularte's stepfather, was struck once in the arm and torso but is expected to survive. 

Velasquez is best known for his stint in UFC from 2008-19. He went 14-3 in his mixed martial arts career and was a two-time UFC heavyweight champion. The 39-year-old also had a brief stint in WWE, including losing to Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel in October 2019.