A Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Was Detained Following Shooting

A former UFC heavyweight champion was detained in Northern California after a shooting.

According to NBC Bay Area, who confirmed with sources, Cain Velasquez was involved in a shooting in San Jose, CA on Monday afternoon.

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Police Say An ‘Adult Male’ Was Shot ‘at Least Once’ as Cain Velasquez Is Being Held Without Bail

According to NBC Bay Area, the shooting occurred “near Monterey Highway and Bailey Avenue in Morgan Hill,” and was reported at 3:14 pm.

According to the outlet, there was no motive given for the shooting but “one man was shot and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and another man was arrested.”

The victim, an “adult male” was shot “at least once” according to the San Jose Police Media Relations.

According to the outlet, Velasquez was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail. Heavy obtained the inmate records that confirm Velasquez was booked on February 28, 2022, and is currently being held without bail.

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Cain Velasquez’s Coach Javier Mendez Thinks a Return to the Octagon Isn’t out of the Question for the Former Champ ‘He’s Got It if He Wants It.’

Velasquez is thought to be retired from MMA, though he has dabbled in professional wrestling, and “still trains at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, about 25 miles north of where the shooting happened,” MMA Junkie reported.

The former champion earned his belt when he defeated Brock Lesnar at UFC 121 on October 23, 2010, he would go on to lose the title in his first defense when he was knocked out by Junior dos Santos at UFC on Fox: Velasquez vs. dos Santos on November 12, 2011.

He would go on to regain the title in a rematch with dos Santos at UFC 155 on December 29, 2012. He defended the title twice after that before losing it for good to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 188 on June 13, 2015. He was plagued with injury throughout his career and hasn’t competed since getting knocked out by Francis Ngannou in just 26 seconds at UFC on ESPN: Ngannou vs. Velasquez on February 17, 2019.

Just this February, Velasquez’s coach Javier Mendez told MMA Junkie a return to the Octagon was not out of the question.

“He’s got it if he wants it,” Mendez told the outlet. “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.’”

Mendez went on to compare him to former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion (and training partner of Velasquez’) Daniel Cormier.

“He does have more [in the tank] than what Daniel [Cormier] had,” Mendez said to MMA Junkie. “He’s not the same. Cain is not the same as when he was younger, but he does have more left than Daniel. He is younger — he’s not in his 40s. Remember, Daniel was 42 and he had a back surgery, and after the surgery, ‘DC’ wasn’t the same. The years caught up to him. All the wear and tear and everything came to an end with him. In his mind, he was always a champion. With Daniel, his mind was always stronger than his body.”

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