What does the MMA community think of Cain Velasquez and his attempted murder charge?

The MMA world was shocked last week to find that the former two-time UFC Heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was involved in an attempt on someone’s life. As more details have emerged surrounding the case, it emerged that Velasquez was chasing down a man that was charged with molesting a child who is related to Cain Velasquez. Velazquez is being charged with attempted murder (along with 9 other counts) and was denied bail on the 7th of March.

The MMA Community shows their support

Per ESPN, 34 letters have been uncovered which plead for a lesser sentence in the case of Cain Velasquez. He is a coach, a mentor, a father, a valued teammate at AKA, and does not have a criminal history.

Dana White had this to say in his letter regarding the former two-time champ:

“I have known Mr. Velasquez for more than 15 years, and during his time as an active athlete with UFC, he represented our company with dignity and always treated others with respect, he was a model example of how a professional athlete should carry himself, projecting a positive image to UFC’s fanbase.”

White is not the only member of the commumity to give his support current UFC Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, former UFC Lightweight champion and training partner at AKA Khabib Nurmagomedov, former UFC double champions Daniel Cormier and Henry Cejudo, former UFC flyweight champion Brandon Moreno, former UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum, current Bellator MMA heavyweight champion Ryan Bader,  Yair Rodriguez, Kelvin Gastelum,  Islam Makhachev, Bjorn Rebney and Bellator president Scott Coker and, Ali Abdelaziz all wrote letters about the wonderful qualities that Cain possesses and the way he impacted each and every one of them.

A teammate and friend of Velazquez at American Kickboxing Academy, Cormier gave his statement:

“Cain has helped me on more occasions than I can count. Like me, he is a father and husband so he knows the demand of trying to do it all. Throughout the years, he has traveled with me, supported me, and even helped me prepare for a coaching job at the high school while I retired from my fighter career. Cain has taken it upon himself to help every chance he gets. During the pandemic when many gyms and restaurants were closed, Cain opened his home and provided a place for wrestlers to train and eat. He even housed them.”

Khabib Numragomedov (also a training partner of Cain’s) wrote: “[Velasquez] is an honest and kindhearted person who would do anything for his family and friends. He is the type of man that most of us would want on our side in life.”

The names on the list go beyond collegiate wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts and go into the realm of professional wrestling too. Velasquez was on the professional wrestling scene in 2019 following his retirement from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts. He started in Lucha Libre before getting into the WWE and the community voiced their support. WWE’s Rey Mysterio, Konnan and Lucha Libre AAA president Dorian Roldan all spoke on the good character of Cain Velasquez.

“[Velasquez] is a loving man, who has consistently gone above and beyond to provide the best possible life for his family,” Rey Mysterio wrote. “[He] expressed to me how hard it was having to leave them behind at home, while he travels in order to pay the bills and put food on his [family’s] table.”

Velasquez is currently in Santa Clara County awaiting his trial on April 12th. He could face up to 20 years in prison, he did not hit his intended target (Harry Eugene Goularte) but instead hit the targets stepfather (Paul Bender). Harry Eugene Goularte is accused of lewd or lascivious act upon a child under the age of 14 and was released on bail on February 25. The victim of the incident, a boy under the age of 10 told the court that Goularte had touched him over 100 times.