Mma, Cain Velasquez released from prison: he tried to kill the man who abused his son

Eight months after being imprisoned for attempted murder, Cain Velasquez was released on $1 million bail. The former UFC heavyweight champion, one of the best known names in the world of MMA, had been arrested for shooting at a car in which three people were travelling. One, 43-year-old Harry Goularte, was accused of molesting her 4-year-old son. At the end of February, the story had divided American public opinion, between those who defended the wrestler (especially fellow fighters and the republican world) and those who instead argued that in no case is it permissible to take justice into your own hands.

VENDETTA

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It all began with an eleven-mile high-speed chase through the streets of San José. On February 22, the then 39-year-old Velasquez in his car tailed the pickup in which Goularte was traveling, with his mother Patricia and stepfather Paul Bender. After ramming him, the wrestler opened fire hitting Bender, who didn’t suffer any fatal injuries. A few days earlier, the former champion’s son had told the police that Goularte would have molested him at least a hundred times in the nursery bathroom housed in the man’s mother’s house and that he would have seen it done to other children as well. Goularte pleaded not guilty and was released on charges of indecency against minors. He now he will have to appear in court for the preliminary trial in early 2023.

PRISON

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Velasquez ended up in jail in Santa Clara County, California, charged with attempted murder and assault with a firearm. He was found not guilty in August but denied release four times. A new judge then allowed the release, deeming that the former fighter did not represent a danger. The fighter will have to wear a GPS locator with a ban on approaching the victims of the assault, undergo treatment for traumatic brain injuries and chronic traumatic encephalopathy and follow a psychological path for parents with abused children. “I feel blessed, I’m ready to go home and be with my friends and family – commented Velasquez as soon as he was free – Thanks to all those who supported me, I love you all”. The former champion is at home with his family today, but the legal problems are far from over: he will have to appear in court on November 21 for a new hearing.

SUPPORT

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Among those who have been close to him, even when the circumstances made one think of a sentence of over 20 years, is his longtime friend and teammate, the former champion Daniel Cormier. “I am so happy. It is at home that he plays on the sofa with his son. I can’t wait to see it,” he said in an interview. But almost the entire fighter world has backed Velasquez’s cause. In fact, after the news of the arrest, Twitter was overwhelmed by the hashtags #FreeCain to push in favor of his release. Alongside his colleague were the UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya and the Italian Marvin Vettori. But that’s not all: Velasquez’s lawyer handed the judge 37 letters signed by stars of the fighting world, from UFC president Dana White to Khabib Nurmagomedov, from Henry Cejudo to Kamaru Usman, from Islam Makhacev to WWE superstar Rey Mysterio. Now the hashtag has gone viral again after the release. The UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling tweets “God is good”, while Eddie Alvarez indulges in a reflection on American justice: “The system has failed. Any normal man would have done the same. If justice had done his job well, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do what he did. My heart is with him and with his loved ones ”.

SAMPLE

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Velasquez, an American of Mexican descent, is one of the strongest, most feared and most dominant heavyweights in the history of mixed martial arts, one who made cardio his strong point (so much so that he was nicknamed “Cardio Cain”) with a stamina in the impressive long run for a man over 110 pounds. He made his UFC debut in 2008, but it was when he knocked out Brock Lesnar in the first round in 2010, winning the heavyweight title for the first time, that he attracted the attention of the general public. He lost and then regained the belt against Junior Dos Santos in an unforgettable trilogy. Away from the octagon due to an endless series of injuries, upon his return in February 2019 he was knocked out in 26 seconds against the current heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, a defeat which convinced him to retire shortly after. Velasquez then ventured into wrestling experience, first in the Mexican promotion Lucha Libre AAA and then in the WWE. His contract with then Vince McMahon’s federation was not renewed in 2020 due to budget cuts due to the pandemic.