Velasquez Releases Statement For ‘True Victims’

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was arrested and charged with multiple felonies including one count of attempted murder after allegedly chasing down a suspected child molester and opening fire last Feb. in Morgan Hills, Calif., wounding the driver in the process (but not his intended victim).

Velasquez was later deemed a “risk” to the public and remains jailed without bail, but that didn’t stop the mixed martial arts (MMA) icon — widely considered one of the best heavyweights of all time — from releasing a statement for the “true victims of this case.”

From his social media accounts:

“To everyone that has expressed your support, my family and I will never be able to thank you enough. From the bottom of our hearts and the depths of our souls, we are forever grateful for your love. Your selfless gestures and kind words have given me strength in my darkest times. This story is complex and slowly unraveling as we speak. To the true victims of this case, may God give you the strength to come forward. Though it is most difficult to relive the pain that has happened to you, in speaking the truth, justice will be served and your own healing will start. I will never stop helping or loving my community and all of you. Thank you for loving me – Cain Velasquez.”

Velasquez will make his next court appearance today (April 12) at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The former American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) fixture was in pursuit of Harry Goularte, 43, who is accused of molesting children at his mother’s daycare facility. Police reports indicate that Velasquez had a “close relative” named among the alleged victims.

Despite local support from the combat sports community, the 39 year-old Velasquez could be looking at 20 years to life in prison if convicted of attempted murder, and that’s without adding on the additional charges he’s facing from the district attorney.

Velasquez (14-3) has not competed since falling to Francis Ngannou back in early 2019.