Ex-UFC star Cain Velasquez has ended his prison sentence.
Outlets such as the San-Jose Mercury News reported that Velasquez was released from Soledad’s Correctional Training Facility on Sunday. Details on the terms of his release are unavailable at this time. Video has surfaced of Velasquez being greeted by his family and a mariachi band.
🚨 Footage of Cain Velasquez officially walking free from prison today
He was emotional and was greeted by his family and a mariachi band 🇲🇽
He served almost a year for firing a gun at a man who is accused of sexually abusing Velasquez’s young son
via Mariachi Jailsciense IG pic.twitter.com/EIcaBH8rMu
— ACD MMA (@acdmma_) February 15, 2026
The former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion was sentenced to five years in prison, but he was credited with 1,283 days served back in Feb. 2025. Velasquez pleaded no contest to attempted murder among other charges.
Velasquez shot at a vehicle that had Harry Goularte in it. Goularte is accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare. Goularte is facing a felony charge amid the accusation, but he is currently out on bail.
Velasquez received interest from at least one fight promotion even before his prison release. The official X account of Dirty Boxing Championship made a post publicly offering Velasquez a deal.
“Dirty Boxing Championship will offer a multi-fight contract to Cain Velasquez to fight as soon as he’s free,” the image in the promotion’s post on X stated.
Back in 2024, Velasquez’s longtime friend and training partner Daniel Cormier recalled how surreal it was seeing his MMA mentor go through the ordeal during an appearance on the “Pound 4 Pound” podcast.
“He went to jail for a while, it was the saddest thing. I would go [to jail], sit with him, and the things we spoke about. It was so crazy because to me, he was the reason I knew I could be a world champ. Because out of our gym, he made it possible to dream that big. Watching the way he worked, watching how committed he was to becoming the best in the world. I knew that I could be the best…”
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