Former UFC champ Cain Velasquez released on parole
Cain Velasquez was released on parole Sunday (ET), his longtime agent Mike Fonseca confirmed. The former heavyweight champion spent the last 11 months in custody after a 2025 sentencing tied to a 2022 shooting incident.
Sentence and time served
Velasquez was sentenced in March 2025 to five years in state prison after pleading no contest to charges related to a February 2022 shooting. At sentencing the court credited him with 1, 283 days already served. After spending nearly a year behind bars following that ruling, he was granted parole and released this past Sunday (ET).
Before his incarceration, Velasquez had been granted $1 million bail and placed on house arrest in November 2022. His release on parole follows the statutory procedures around credit for time served and parole eligibility applied in this case.
The 2022 shooting and ongoing legal fallout
The charges stem from an episode in February 2022 in which Velasquez chased and repeatedly shot at the vehicle of a man accused of molesting his 4-year-old son. During the roughly 11-mile pursuit, the father of the accused man, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was shot and injured.
The man pursued by Velasquez continues to face a felony charge of lewd acts with a minor. Velasquez has also filed a civil case against him. Those parallel legal matters remain active and are separate from the criminal case that led to Velasquez’s prison sentence and subsequent parole.
Legacy, support and what comes next
Velasquez rose to prominence in mixed martial arts by winning the undisputed UFC heavyweight title with a knockout of Brock Lesnar in October 2010 and went on to make multiple championship appearances. He fought out of the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose and formally retired from MMA competition in 2019.
Following his arrest, the promotion publicly expressed support for Velasquez, including a letter from its CEO to the court that described him as a "model example of how a professional athlete should carry himself. " That backing was part of a broader public conversation about the case and his standing in the sport.
With parole now in effect, Velasquez will be subject to the conditions and supervision that accompany release, and it remains to be seen how he will address pending civil litigation and the separate criminal case involving the man he confronted in 2022. His agent has indicated that steps will be taken consistent with parole requirements and ongoing legal obligations.
The news of his release brings a high-profile chapter in Velasquez’s life to a new phase, though several legal and personal matters connected to the 2022 incident continue to unfold.
