Cain Velasquez hoping to ‘make something positive out of this terrible situation’

Cain Velasquez is officially out of jail. The former UFC-champion was granted bail this past Tuesday, November 8th, after spending months incarcerated over charges…

By: Zane Simon | 7 months ago
Cain Velasquez hoping to ‘make something positive out of this terrible situation’
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Cain Velasquez is officially out of jail. The former UFC-champion was granted bail this past Tuesday, November 8th, after spending months incarcerated over charges of the attempted murder of accused child molester Harry Goularte and the shooting of Goularte’s stepfather Paul Bender.

Velasquez had been denied bail on three previous occasions, with judge Shelyna Brown noting that the 40-year-old posed an immediate threat both to Goularte, his family, and the public at large. In his latest pre-trial hearing, however, judge Arthur Bocanegra agreed to a $1 million bond for Velasquez—given the former NCAA All-American’s lack of criminal record and unlikelihood to be a flight risk.

As he exited the Santa Clara County corrections facility in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Velasquez gave a brief statement to the media on his release.

“I feel great,” Velasquez said. “Just feel blessed, you know? Ready to go home, be with the loved ones, the family, friends, and make something positive out of this whole situation.

“Just, thank you to everybody who had my support. I love all of you. Just, always continue to be better as a person, always do good things; just make something positive of this terrible situation. My family and I, we’re going to do that.”

Velasquez currently faces 10 charges—including attempted premeditated murder—stemming from the vehicle chase and shooting in pursuit of Goularte, who has been accused of molesting a member of Velasquez’s family at the daycare center owned by Goularte’s parents. As a condition of his release, Velasquez will be confined to house arrest and must undergo treatment for possible CTE symptoms—something Velasquez’s lawyer has argued may have been a factor in the incident.

The longtime American Kickboxing Academy athlete and recent WWE professional wrestler is due back in court on November 21st for another pre-trial hearing.

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About the author
Zane Simon
Zane Simon

Zane Simon is a senior editor, writer, and podcaster for Bloody Elbow. He has worked with the website since 2013, taking on a wide variety of roles. A lifelong combat sports fan, Zane has trained off & on in both boxing and Muay Thai. He currently hosts the long-running MMA Vivisection podcast, which he took over from Nate Wilcox & Dallas Winston in 2015, as well as the 6th Round podcast, started in 2014. Zane is also responsible for developing and maintaining the ‘List of current UFC fighters’ on Bloody Elbow, a resource he originally developed for Wikipedia in 2010.

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