Cain Velazquez hasn’t fought in the UFC since 2019, but that didn’t stop Dana White from stepping up to help him when he needed him the most.
Before receiving five years in prison after a contest appeal accused of numerous charges, including a planned attempted murder, Velazquez spent eight months in prison for judges’ continued refusing to bail. Velazquez was first arrested in February 2022 after a high-speed 11-mile pursuit after a car that included Harry Goalt, a man accused of abusing the fighter’s son at a daycare owned by Goalt’s mother.
While chasing the car, Velazquez fired several rounds from a .40 caliber handgun with the vehicle, including the Golarte, but the bullet eventually hit his stepfather, Paul Bender, in the arm. As a result, Bender suffered life-threatening injuries.
Until November 2022, Velazquez was eventually granted a bail set at $1 million by Judge Arthur Bocanegra, and White quickly stepped up to help the retired fighter.
“I don’t know if he made a statement in advance or if he paid my bail when I was locked up,” Velazquez revealed in a recent episode. Underground story Pre-ruling podcast. “That’s why they’re helping.”
White never publicly addressed Velázquez’s bail, but he continued to support the official statement to the former heavyweight champion, writing a letter that was presented to the court when Velázquez was about to be released from prison.
“We are delighted that he and his family will finally be back together,” White told TMZ shortly after Velazquez was released. “Cain Velázquez is a good guy, he is a good guy and I want a judge who saw this case and said, “What do you know? This family suffered enough.”
“As if the children were not suffering enough, they lost their father for almost a year. Hopefully, real justice will be served in this case, and Cain Velázquez is a good man, a good father, a good husband – get to stay home with his family.”
Velazquez remained in custody until a court hearing was heard in March, when Bocanegra sentenced him to five years in prison. The prosecutor wanted 30 years behind the bar.
Due to the months Velazquez spent in prison and house arrest, he accumulated enough time to qualify for advance payments in March 2026.
Currently, Velázquez is serving time in prison, but he still has additional hearings related to his crime, the next date, June 3, set for a recovery hearing.