Ex-UFC Champ Cain Velasquez Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison Over 2022 Shooting

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been sentenced to five years in prison stemming from a 2022 shooting in California.

Per Ian Cull of NBC Sports Bay Area, a Santa Clara County court judge sentenced Velasquez on Monday after he pleaded no contest to multiple charges, including attempted murder.

Cull noted the deputy district attorney sought a sentence of 30 years to life, while Velasquez's attorneys asked for time served and probation.

Velasquez was originally arrested and booked for attempted murder after allegedly firing a gun at a car carrying three individuals in February 2022.

One of the people in the car had recently been accused of molesting a relative of Velasquez's. Damian Trujillo of NBC Bay Area cited court documents stating the alleged abuse of Velasquez's relative may have happened "100 times."

Velasquez wound up shooting the stepfather of the accused man, resulting in non-life-threatening injuries.

In a criminal complaint filed by the Santa Clara County Superior Court (h/t Nolan King of MMA Junkie), Velasquez was formally charged with 10 different counts, including attempted murder, three counts of assault with a firearm and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Velasquez officially entered his plea of no contest to Judge Arthur Bocanegra at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in August 2024. The plea deal allowed a charge of premeditated murder to be dropped, which meant he was no longer subject to a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

The 42-year-old Velasquez is best known for his mixed martial arts career. He went 14-3 in 17 career bouts, winning the UFC heavyweight title twice. He also had a brief stint in WWE, losing to Brock Lesnar in a bout for the WWE championship at Crown Jewel in October 2019.