A host of professional MMA fighters reacted as former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was sentenced for a 2022 shooting.
Velasquez spent eight months behind bars following an incident in February 2022. The MMA great was arrested and charged with attempted, premeditated murder after pursuing and shooting at a car that contained Harry Goularte, who’s accused of sexually molesting Velasquez’s four-year-old son at a daycare facility.
The 42-year-old Salinas native’s arrest came after he opened fire and struck Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender, who was also in the vehicle at the time.
After eventually being granted bail, Cain Velasquez finally learned his fate on Monday, March 24, when he was sentenced by Judge Arthur Bolcanegra at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose, California.
While the prosecution was seeking 30 years to life, Velasquez was ultimately handed a five-year sentence, which will be shortened by time served of 1,283 days. With that, the UFC legend is expected to serve less than two years.
Though many have shed a sigh of relief given the significant sentence sought by the prosecution, many fans and peers of Velasquez’s were quick to express their frustration with the former fighter spending further time behind bars.
