Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez has accepted a no-contest plea for his 2022 attempted murder case, in which he engaged in a high-speed car chase and unloaded a firearm at a man accused of molesting his son.
The plea convicts Velasquez of the charges he was facing but also allows him to avoid the mandatory life sentence, with allegations of the action being premeditated dropped as well.
The agreement, which was first reported by Robert Salonga of The Mercury News, comes just weeks before Velasquez was set to appear for trial in San Jose, California, USA. He will now return to court on October 18th for a sentencing hearing.
Velasquez was arrested in early 2022 after targeting Harry Goularte Jr., a man who was facing charges of molesting the MMA fighter’s son. Police said that a car chase ensued after Velasquez fired at a vehicle including Goularte Jr. and his parents, lasting 11 miles in total.
Velasquez allegedly later collided with a vehicle containing Goularte Jr.,, allowing him to unload many more shots with a .40-caliber pistol. Goularte Jr. did not come into contact with any bullets, but stepfather Paul Bender was struck in the chest and suffered a non-life-threatening injury.
The MMA fighter surrendered to the police later that day. He remained in custody for months, eventually being released on a $1 million bail in November 2022 with strict conditions.
The former UFC star appointed a team led by celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos to defend him, initially entering into a plea of not guilty. Geragos departed Velasquez’s team of representation by early 2023, leaving just the local group of lawyers to fight on his behalf.
Velasquez was a prominent heavyweight talent in the UFC from 2008 to 2019, earning him two separate title reigns. He has remained a notable figure in the industry since retiring five years ago, guiding fighters from the prominent American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) gym. He had also begun pursuing a career in professional wrestling by 2019, including a brief run in the WWE.
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