UFC president Dana White was among many prominent figures from the
MMA world who submitted letters in support of Cain Velasquez to the
Santa Clara County Superior Court last week.
Velasquez is
facing attempted murder and multiple other charges after firing
shots at a man accused of molesting a younger relative of the
fighter’s on multiple occasions. Velasquez was
denied bail at an arraignment by judge Shelya Brown, who said
that the “risk is too great” to release the UFC veteran.
According to
ESPN, 34 letters were written to the court asking for leniency
on behalf of Velasquez. Many of those praised Velasquez for being a
family man, friend and teammate with no criminal record.
“I have known Mr. Velasquez for more than 15 years, and during his
time as an active athlete with UFC, he represented our company with
dignity and always treated others with respect,” White wrote. “He
was a model example of how a professional athlete should carry
himself, projecting a positive image to UFC’s fanbase.”
Others who wrote letters supporting Velasquez include the likes of
Daniel Cormier, Kamaru Usman, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Henry Cejudo,
Brandon Moreno, Fabricio Werdum, Ryan Bader, Yair Rodriguez, Kelvin
Gastelum, Islam Makhachev, Bjorn Rebney, Scott Coker and Ali
Abdelaziz.
Cormier, a longtime teammate of Velasquez’s at American Kickboxing
Academy in San Jose, Calif., praised the generosity of his training
partner.
“Cain has helped me on more occasions than I can count,” Cormier
wrote. “Like me, he is a father and husband so he knows the demand
of trying to do it all. Throughout the years, he has traveled with
me, supported me, and even helped me prepare for a coaching job at
the high school while I retired from my fighter career. Cain has
taken it upon himself to help every chance he gets. During the
pandemic when many gyms and restaurants were closed, Cain opened
his home and provided a place for wrestlers to train and eat. He
even housed them.”
The letters were solicited by Velasquez’s legal team, according to
the report. The lead attorney is Mark Geragos, who in the past has
represented the likes of Michael Jackson and Chris Brown.
The 39-year-old Velasquez is accused of attempted murder,
premeditated murder and a litany of other charges after firing a
.40 handgun “multiple times” into a truck carrying Harry Goularte,
Paul Bender and Patricia Goularte. Velasquez was targeting Harry
Goularte, who allegedly molested a close relative of the fighter’s
as many as “100 times.” Velasquez engaged in a high-speed chase
through “busy streets” of San Jose with the vehicle and fired
shots, ultimately wounding Bender, who is Harry Goularte’s
stepfather.
The 43-year-old Harry Goularte had been charged with one felony
count of a lewd and lascivious act with a child under the age of 14
on Feb. 25. A judge released him from custody without bail under
the condition that he remain on home detention in Morgan Hill, stay
away from children younger than 14 and wear an electronic ankle
monitor – despite the protests of the district attorney’s office.
Goularte was on his way to pick up the tracking device when
Velasquez attacked the vehicle.