Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was arrested, and has since been jailed for his involvement in a shooting incident at South San Jose
Former WWE wrestler and UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was arrested on Monday after a shooting that wounded a man in the suburbs of South San Jose, according to law-enforcement sources and jail records.
San Jose police are still investigating the incident while Cain is being held without bail in California.
The San Jose Police Department’s media relations initially announced on Twitter that a shooting occurred, with “one adult male shot at least once and transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.”
Cain Velasquez hasn’t competed in the UFC since 2019, and was also cut by the WWE in 2020 following a short stint at pro-wrestling. His coach at the American Kickboxing Academy, Javier Mendez had suggested a potential return inside the octagon, which does not look likely any time soon.
Cain Velasquez is acclaimed by fans and MMA pundits alike as one of the most gifted heavyweight fighters of our generation. His ferocity and athleticism for that weight-class was unlike any fighter before him, and some even consider him one of the greatest heavyweight when in his prime.
Velasquez announced his retirement from the sport following a disappointing loss to current UFC champion Francis Ngannou in under a minute. He also had a brief spell in the WWE, where he reignited his rivalry with former nemesis Brock Lesnar, but was released by the promotion in 2020.
His coach Javier Mendez spoke to MMA Junkie about a possible return inside the octagon by saying,
“He’s got it. But I don’t know now if he wants to come back. I don’t speak with him about those things. But it’s possible. If someone says, ‘Hey, here’s $2 million, let’s go fight,’ he might say, ‘Eh, give me $4 [million] and I’ll do it.’”
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