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Former UFC champion released on parole after shooting at 4-year-old son’s alleged abuser: Report
Cain Velasquez was granted parole after serving nearly 11 months for shooting at a man accused of molesting his son; he pleaded no contest and received a five-year sentence.
- Cain Velasquez, the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, walked free on parole Feb. 15, 2026, from Soledad Correctional Training Facility and was greeted by family and a mariachi band.
- Velasquez chased and fired at a vehicle in an 11-mile high-speed pursuit on Feb. 28, 2022, targeting Harry Goularte Jr., accused of molesting his 4-year-old son.
- Velasquez pleaded no contest to attempted murder and related gun and assault counts and was sentenced to five years by Judge Arthur Bocanegra in March 2025, then remanded to state custody.
- The Bender family says the shooting and publicity forced them from South County and they seek restitution for lost daycare income after Paul Bender was wounded.
- Both families continue legal battles with competing civil suits and Goularte's case pending, with a trial scheduled for March 9 and a hearing on April 15.
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56 Articles
MMA star Cain Velasquez released from prison, reunites with family
(KRON) -- Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is a free man. The MMA star was granted parole from prison after serving 11 months in prison, his agent told ESPN. Videos shared on Instagram by a band, Mariachi Jalisciense, shows the father of two leaving Correctional Training Facility prison in Soledad, Calif. last weekend, stepping out of a white van, and hugging family members. The mariachi band played a song for the happy reunion and…
Former heavyweight champion of UFC, Cain Velasquez was released on February 15, 2026 after serving part of his sentence for attempted murder in California. Cain Velasquez finds the
Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez reunites with family after his release from prison for shooting son’s alleged abuser
Former UFC fighter Cain Velasquez had an emotional reunion with his family following his release from prison, less than a year into a five-year sentence for attempting to shoot a man accused of molesting his child.
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