Cain Velasquez has been behind bars since February 28th. The former UFC heavyweight champion is facing multiple charges, the most serious being attempted murder.
Many athletes and close personal friends have come to Velasquez’s defense including former UFC world champions Daniel Cormier, Kamaru Usman, Brandon Moreno, and Henry Cejudo. In an interview with Red Corner MMA on YouTube, former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov revealed that he had briefly spoken to Velasquez. Nurmagomedov confirmed that, despite his current situation, the heavyweight icon is in good spirits.
“Yeah, just before the flight I had phone call with him for 5-7 minutes. If I’m not mistaken, they only one phone call from jail per day. I know that he talks to his kids, to his family. I got 5-7 minutes to have a word with Cain. I was surprised that he manages to hold himself in high spirits.
“We talked, we even laughed a bit. We discussed some details of his case. Although I’m not going to reveal those…. It is what it is. God chose to test him this way. In this particular place in that particular moment and he has to go through this.”
Also coming to Cain Velasquez’s defense is a former boss and UFC President Dana White who sent a letter supporting Cain Velasquez’s release on bail.
“I have known Mr. Velasquez for more than 15 years, and during his time as an active athlete with UFC, he represented our company with dignity and always treated others with respect,” White wrote in his letter, via ESPN. “He was a model example of how a professional athlete should carry himself, projecting a positive image to UFC’s fanbase.”
Cain Velasquez Will Return to Court on September 26th
Cain Velasquez has been charged with attempted murder and 10 other gun-related charges following an incident on February 28th. Velasquez allegedly chased down Harry Goularte, the man being charged with molesting a young relative of Velasquez on reportedly multiple occasions.
During the incident, Velasquez allegedly fired multiple shots at the vehicle carrying Goularte, hitting his stepfather Paul Bender in the process. Since being taken into custody, Velasquez has been denied bail on three separate occasions. The former heavyweight world champion entered a plea of not guilty in early August and is currently awaiting a pre-trial hearing on September 26th.
On February 25th, just days before Cain Velasquez was arrested, Harry Goularte was released without bail after having been arrested on a charge of lewd or lascivious act upon a child under the age of 14.
“They’re trying to desperately run away from the fact that the system failed Cain,” said Velasquez’s attorney Mark Geragos. “They don’t want to get into that. They want to try a case that’s divorced from reality.”
