UFC president Dana White reacted to the news surrounding Cain Velasquez.
Velasquez was arrested Monday and is facing six charges after an attempted shooting of a man in San Jose, California. The motive for Velasquez was targeting another man accused of molesting his daughter possibly “100 times” at a daycare.
What occurred was the Goulartes were in a car with another man, Paul Bender. Velasquez rammed into them and fired two shots with one hitting Bender in the arm. Velasquez was arrested soon after.
The Charges
The former UFC heavyweight champion is now facing charges for attempted murder (one count), shooting at a motor vehicle or aircraft (one count), assault with a firearm (three counts), assault with a deadly weapon (three counts), willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle (one count), and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony (one count).
Velasquez was arraigned on Wednesday and the arraignment will continue on Monday. He has a court hearing set for March 23 and will remain in the Santa Clara County jail.
“The sad tragedy is that Mr. Velasquez chose to take the law into his own hands, endangering the public and everyone in the truck,” Santa Clara County DA Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “This act of violence also causes more pain and suffering to his family.”
If found guilty of attempted murder, Velasquez could face at least 20 years in prison up to life imprisonment. That’s not including the other charges.
After Cain Velasquez’s alleged shooting details emerged, the MMA community came forward to support the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion on social media.
Dana White: I Feel Sorry For Cain Velasquez
Given the motive of Velasquez, many in the combat sports world jumped to his defense with the #FreeCain hashtag trending.
White is also seemingly on Velasquez’s side as he was sympathetic to his situation when asked about it for the first time.
“I obviously feel sorry for him and his family,” White said at the UFC 272 media day. “It’s a horrible thing. I don’t know enough details to speak on it, but from what I’ve heard – we all say we’d do it if it ever happened to us. Cain did it.”
Velasquez last competed in February 2019 when he suffered a knockout defeat to Francis Ngannou. He would later officially retire from mixed martial arts in October that year.
1 thought on “Cain Velasquez Could Face Up to 20 Years of Jail Time in Attempted Murder Case, Dana White Reacts”
Feel very sorry for the Velasquez family. It’s too bad the bullet didn’t connect with the child abuser’s skull.