Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez charged with attempted murder after shooting incident
Velasquez is suspected of shooting another guy in San Jose who was suffering from non-life threatening injuries.
Cain Velasquez, the former UFC heavyweight champion, has been charged with attempted murder. The San Jose Police Department stated in a statement that Velasquez was detained in San Jose, California, on Monday night after reportedly shooting someone.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, Velasquez opened fire on a car transporting a guy accused of abusing a close cousin of the former world champion. According to authorities, the individual injured by the gunshots was the accused’s stepfather, who is likely to survive his injuries.
Velasquez is being detained in the Santa Clara County prison without bond and is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
“At this moment, the motivation and circumstances surrounding this act are still being investigated,” the statement said.
Velasquez (14-3) has long been regarded as one of the sport’s best heavyweights, a position he may have retained had it not been for a series of injuries that wrecked his career. Velasquez won the UFC heavyweight belt after defeating Brock Lesnar by first-round TKO after a perfect 9-0 run that included a first-round knockout of Pride and UFC great Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira.
He failed in his first title defence against Junior dos Santos, but he restored the title and overcame his foe in a trilogy match versus dos Santos.
Velasquez’s momentum and peak years as a fighter were dramatically derailed by recurring knee injuries, including in his most recent MMA battle. Between Oct. 20, 2013, and Feb. 17, 2019, he only fought three bouts. Velasquez announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on Oct. 19, 2019, following a fast knockout loss against Francis Ngannou.
After that, the Mexican-American boxer moved to pro wrestling, making his debut for the Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide promotion in Mexico.
Velasquez had a brief time with the WWE, when he competed against UFC rival Brock Lesnar. The conflict came to a head at the Crown Jewel event in 2019. In a quick, one-sided bout, Lesnar successfully defended his WWE Championship against Velasquez.
Velasquez competed in NCAA Division I heavyweight wrestling in college, finishing fourth in 2006 and sixth in 2005.