NEW YORK – Former UFC dual champion Daniel Cormier did something this week that he hadn’t done in a long while: He FaceTimed with his good friend, Cain Velasquez.
That’s because Velasquez had been in custody for more than eight months at a Santa Clara County (Calif.) jail. But Velasquez’s situation changed Tuesday when he was granted $1 million bail – after being denied three times – by Judge Arthur Bocanegra to conclude a two-day pre-trial hearing in the former UFC heavyweight champion’s attempted murder case.
In the early morning hours Wednesday, a smiling Velasquez walked out of Santa Clara County Main Jail North in San Jose. Later that morning, Cormier was glad to spend some time with him on the phone – and happy with what he saw.
“They’ve been through a lot the last eight months as a family,” Cormier told reporters Thursday during UFC 281 fight week. “… It was nice to see him laying on the floor with his son, man. Kid stayed home from school and hung out with his father. It was beautiful.”
Velasquez, 40, faces a handful of charges, including attempted murder, for allegedly shooting at a car carrying Goularte, a man accused of molesting Velasquez’s 4-year-old son, and striking Goularte’s stepfather in the arm with a bullet Feb. 28.
Cormier, a former Velasquez teammate at American Kickboxing Academy, has been a staunch supporter of his friend ever since the alleged incident. He explained the relief he felt after seeing what it was like for Velasquez in jail when he visited him.
“I could never try to attempt to tell you what that felt like for Cain Velasquez, because I’ve never been in a situation like he’s been in,” Cormier said. “But, for me, the relief was knowing he gets to go home. In times, from the phone calls to the visits, he put on a brave face. I could tell he was hurting. It hurt us to see him in that situation. But it’s not over yet.”
Cormier is right: While Velasquez’s release from jail was a victory in court for him and his legal team, he still has a long way to go. Cormier, though, is holding out hope for a best-case-scenario after hearing what the judge had to say during the pre-trial hearing.
“The beauty in him getting to go home was also in the words (of the judge),” Cormier said. “I heard the judge say something to the effect of a ‘crime of passion.’ There’s a viable defense for that. I think that’s a positive thing for him.”
Velasquez is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 21 when he is due back in court.
Daniel Cormier explains relief knowing Cain Velasquez out on bail, acknowledges case ‘not over yet’
