Cain Velasquez attempted murder trial expected to begin in January

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will stand trial for several charges, including premeditated attempted murder, in January 2024.

Judge Daniel Nishigaya granted Velasquez’s legal team an additional extension Wednesday for the trial setting, on the condition that the date would finally be set at the next hearing. The trial setting was initially scheduled back in January, but has been pushed back several times. The exact trial date will be set on December 6, with return to court expected in January.

“I am willing to give this another setting date with the understanding that I will be intending to set a trial date in the middle to later part of January on Dec. 6,” Nishigaya said (via MMA Fighting).

Velasquez was arrested back in February of 2022 after allegedly engaging in a high-speed chase and firing several shots into a vehicle with a handgun. The vehicle Velasquez was firing into contained Harry Goularte and Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender. Goularte, who is facing several separate charges for allegedly molesting the four-year-old son of Velasquez, was the intended target.

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However, Goularte was unharmed in the incident, while Bender suffered non-life threatening injuries from a bullet wound. The former UFC heavyweight king was later arrested on 10 separate offenses, including the premeditated murder charge. He later spent eight months behind bars before being granted a $1 million bail in November of 2022.

Judge Arthur Bocanegra ordered the bail be under the conditions that Velasquez wear a GPS ankle monitor at all times, and undergo treatment for traumatic brain injury and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy). Velasquez was also given the green light to participate in professional wrestling events, as well as make other appearances.

Cain Velasquez faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted on all charges.