Former UFC champ Cain Velasquez released from prison after short sentence for attempted murder conviction

Cain Velasquez, the former UFC mixed-martial arts champion who fought out of San Jose, was released from prison Sunday after less than a year following his attempted murder conviction for chasing then shooting and wounding the family of a man accused of sexually abusing his son.

Velasquez recently wrote in a social-media post about his pending release, which was further confirmed to this news organization by his criminal-defense attorney Renee Hessling.

The 43-year-old Velasquez was remanded to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on March 27, 2025, three days after his sentencing by now-retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Arthur Bocanegra, who was visibly in tears when he handed down a five-year prison term.

Velasquez ultimately served about a year of incarceration, including the time he spent in county jail following the Feb. 28, 2022 shooting. He eventually was granted supervised release on $1 million bail — also issued by Bocanegra — during which Velasquez traveled out of state to participate in wrestling and fighting events under a work exception, including serving as a corner man at a UFC match in Las Vegas.

Velasquez pleaded no contest in August 2024 to attempted murder and nine gun assault crimes in the attack after reaching an agreement with prosecutors that removed premeditation from the allegations, eliminating a mandatory life prison term. Still, Deputy District Attorney Aaron French sought a 30 years-to-life prison term while Hessling sought probation; Bocanegra ultimately chose a sentence much closer to the defense request.

At sentencing, Velasquez said his “actions were reckless and extremely dangerous,” and that he was “ashamed and regretful for how I handled myself on the day of my crime.” The judge allowed a recording of the frantic 911 call from Patty Bender, in which she describes in real time being chased and shot at by Velasquez, to be played at the hearing.

Paul Bender, the man who was wounded in the shooting, said at the same hearing that “Cain Velasquez demonstrated that he has no respect for the judicial system, does not care about the rule of law, and has no regard for human life.”

Patty Bender, the mother of Velasquez’s intended shooting target Harry Goularte Jr., criticized what she described as the judge’s deference to the allegations against her son in his sentencing evaluation, emphasizing that they have not been proven in court and strongly asserting his innocence. Goularte’s case is still pending and court records show a trial setting hearing scheduled for April 15.

On the afternoon of Feb. 28, 2022, Goularte was being driven by the Benders from Morgan Hill toward San Jose so Goularte could get fitted for an ankle monitor. Wearing the device was a requirement of his supervised release after being charged with abusing Velasquez’s child at the longtime daycare that Patty Bender operated out of her San Martin home.

Authorities said that Velasquez had begun Goularte’s parents as they left their San Martin home; shortly after Goularte got into his parents’ pickup truck in Morgan Hill, authorities say, Velasquez first shot at him, touching off an 11-mile high-speed car chase through Morgan Hill that ended near Monterey Road and Bailey Avenue on the southern reaches of San Jose. With commute traffic coming off Highway 101 and a nearby school letting out, Velasquez used his pickup to ram Paul Bender’s truck before he fired several shots at the three with a .40-caliber pistol, wounding Bender in the arm and torso, then fled.

Velasquez surrendered to a responding Morgan Hill police officer shortly afterward.

The Benders have since said that the shooting and its publicity, as well as Velasquez’s fame and fervent following, have led to their exile from the South County community where they lived for decades, in part because of threats and attacks on their home. They also contend that authorities to this point have overlooked alibi evidence, including video footage, that they say exonerates Goularte.

Besides the pending criminal case for Goularte, the Bender and Velasquez families have competing lawsuits filed against each other, and the Benders are in the process of seeking restitution from Velasquez because of their injuries and the closure of Patty Bender’s daycare business following the shooting and resulting income loss.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.