Cain Velasquez is out of jail awaiting trial, but his lengthy incarceration earlier this year is not far enough in his rearview mirror that it can be forgotten.
Velasquez was granted bail Nov. 8 by a judge in Santa Clara (Calif.) County. Previous bail requests had been denied for Velasquez three times by a different judge.
Velasquez also was allowed to travel from California to Arizona to take part in a lucha libre wrestling event earlier this month – under court supervision.
His trial date is not yet set. A former UFC heavyweight champion, Velasquez is out on $1 million bail as he faces a number of charges including attempted murder. It was a fight to get former UFC heavyweight champion Velasquez out of incarceration, where he stayed for 253 days.
Velasquez recently appeared on the “Keepin’ It 100” podcast with former pro wrestler Konnan and said his time behind bars was in protective custody, and he was around just a small group of other inmates. He said he had time outside his cell for three hours a day, which he used to exercise and read.
But he said support of family and fans helped him through.
“My mind ran both sides of it – the bad side and the good side,” Velasquez said. “We always have to have faith. It doesn’t matter what position we’re in, where we’re at. We’ve always got to look for the best-case scenario for us and just know that our lives are something much bigger and it’s all going to work out for the best, always.
“… They had me in protective custody. It was very low-key. (There was) only a few people that I was able to kind of hang out with. I guess the good thing about it is you’ve got a lot of alone time with yourself, and the bad thing about it was you’ve got a lot of alone time with yourself.
“… I did (hear about the support), and I have, and I just want to thank everyone. I truly appreciate everyone’s support in all of it. It means so much to me. It gave me a lot of strength when I was in there. I feel it and I just want thank everybody forever for that.”
Cain Velasquez: ‘A lot of alone time’ was one of drawbacks behind bars