Cain Velasquez’s Only Flaw Revealed as Ex-UFC Champ Makes Heavyweight GOAT Claims

When you think about the greatest heavyweights in UFC history, who comes to mind? Yes, Jon Jones is there, we all know, but apart from ‘Bones’? Well, we cannot forget Cain Velasquez now, can we? The 14-3-0 star was stoic not just by expression but by his actions as well. His serious face matched his physique and work ethic, and he was one of the best heavyweights in his prime. A collegiate-level wrestler, he will always be remembered for his durability and grappling prowess. The battle that put Velasquez on the radar for mainstream MMA fans was at UFC 121 against legendary star Brock Lesnar. Velasquez was able to survive Lesnar’s tremendous pressure proper game plan that exhausted Lesnar and gave Cain the upper hand. 

Unfortunately, his amazing career was a short tale due to injury, but when he was at his best, he was a scary opponent. Meanwhile, now he seems to be going through a tough time because he was arrested on account of attempted mu-der. ‘Cardio Cain’ had previously pleaded not guilty, but the court later overturned his request.

On that note, recently Henry Cejudo and Jake Shields sat down for a casual day at the latter’s studio in Scottsdale, Arizona, where they spoke about current fights, podcasting, content design, and more. Among the topics was the Mexican American star and his fighting career. Cejudo said, “To me, Cain’s style, I think he’s— man. His style of fighting, bro. He is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. I 100% agree that the only downside of Cain he did not have a long reign. When he was vicious, he was, but I think there were a couple of years where he was, without a doubt, the best heavyweight. He just overtrained, bro.”

Term Life 2016 – filmstill Term Life 2016 Cain Velasquez, Javier Carrasquillo EDITORIAL USE ONLY Copyright: xCAP/FBx

They were not happy with the recent news of his 5 year prison sentence and spoke about his amazing career. Even Shields admitted that he was a ‘scary man’. However, he did overtrain, which was one of his drawbacks, and his training intensity may have contributed to his struggles. He was swarmed with injuries from his shoulder to his knee, and his back, which took away some of his prime years. Meanwhile, even Cejudo and Kamaru Usman spoke about the jail sentence. They expressed their solidarity with Velasquez and shared their relief that the sentence was not extremely harsh. So what really happened?

All about Cain Velasquez’s prison sentence

On 24 March 2025, the MMA world got shattering news when Judge Arthur Bocanegra of the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice in San Jose sentenced Cain Velasquez to 5 years in prison.  The former 2 time HW champ already spent almost 9 months in prison before getting a temporary bail in 2022. He also had to pay $1 million for the bail and was placed under house arrest with an ankle monitor.

He was going through this hard time because back in 2022, he chased  Harry Goularte in a vehicle. The latter allegedly harassed and molested Velasquez’s son on numerous occasions. It was revealed that Goularte’s mother ran a daycare where Velasquez’s son used to go. On top of that, Goularte had been arrested in the past due to alleged improper behavior with a 4-year-old at the daycare. So the HW star got into a high-speed chase and fired several shots from his handgun. However, the rounds pierced his stepfather, Paul Bender, and injured his left arm.

On top of that, the prosecution decided to imprison Velasquez for 30 years. Nevertheless, Judge Bocanegra claimed that the biggest penalty for a father was to stay away from his kids, and he sentenced the heavyweight fighter to 5 years in jail. However, this does not mean that the UFC star has to spend the entirety of these 5 years in prison. Judge Bocanegra credited him with 1283 days. This means that the former UFC star would have to stay in prison for about 542 days.

Fans were naturally confused by the technical jargon, so MMA journo Damon Martin came to the rescue. Martin took to X and wrote, “Just to clear up any confusion — Cain Velasquez gets credit for time in jail and time he was on house arrest, so that’s where it’s approximately 3 years. With good behavior, Cain will undoubtedly spend far less than 2 years in prison. Could end up being a year.” So, what do you think about this whole ordeal? Was this punishment necessary or too much? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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