Ex-UFC Champ Cain Velasquez Enters Plea To Attempted Murder Charge

MORGAN HILL, CA — Former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted murder after authorities said he chased and rammed a pickup truck that carried the man accused of repeatedly molesting a 4-year-old relative, then shot at the man in Morgan Hill.

On Friday, Velasquez also pleaded not guilty to assault and weapons charges in San Jose, Bay Area News Group reported. Online court records showed he is held without bail in the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

As Patch previously reported, Velasquez, 40, of Gilroy, was arrested in February in connection with the shooting. At the time, San José police said a man was shot and wounded near Monterey Highway and Bailey Avenue.

The man who was wounded was later identified by media outlets as the stepfather of the man charged with molesting a close relative of Velasquez.

Prosecutors said Velasquez fired several rounds from a .40-caliber pistol at a pickup truck, wounding the stepfather of the man accused of sex abuse.

Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, about 19 miles southeast of San Jose. Velasquez trained at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose.

Born in Salinas and raised in Yuma, Arizona, Velasquez last fought in 2019 in a loss against now-reigning UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Velasquez finished his UFC career with a record of 14-3, with 12 knockouts.

Velasquez won his first title fight in 2010, knocking out Brock Lesnar. After losing the heavyweight belt in 2011 to Junior Dos Santos, Velasquez reclaimed the heavyweight belt in a 2012 rematch with Dos Santos. Velasquez successfully defended his title in 2013 against Antonio Silva, then again that same year in a third bout against Dos Santos.

In 2015, he lost the heavyweight belt to Fabricio Werdum. He retired four years later and has since performed in WWE, stepping into the ring with Lesnar in a quasi-rematch.