Ex-UFC Champ Cain Velasquez Arrested for Attempted Murder in Alleged Shooting Incident

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was arrested and booked on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with an alleged shooting in Morgan Hill, Calif.

The shooting occurred near the intersection of Monterey Highway and Baily Avenue on Monday at 3:14 p.m. local time and left one man injured. The man was transported to a local hospital with “non-life threatening injuries” after being shot “at least once.” NBC Bay Area was first to report the incident, and TMZ Sports to report that Velasquez was arrested.

The SJPD later confirmed via Twitter that Velasquez was arrested in connection with the incident and booked into the Santa Clara County main jail for attempted murder. “The motive and circumstances surrounding this incident are still under investigation at this time,” reads a statement from San Jose Police media relations.

4/ Cain Velasquez was the suspect arrested yesterday in connection with this incident. He was booked into Santa Clara County main jail for attempted murder.

The motive and circumstances surrounding this incident are still under investigation at this time. pic.twitter.com/bBuuPQytNx

— San José Police Media Relations (@SJPD_PIO) March 1, 2022

According to online records, Velasquez spent Monday night in jail and is being held without bail. He is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday at noon local time. The 39-year-old trains at American Kickboxing Academy, which is approximately 25 miles away from where the alleged shooting occurred.

Velasquez last fought for the Las Vegas-based promotion in February 2019, when he suffered a first-round KO loss to current divisional kingpin Francis Ngannou at UFC on ESPN 1. The Salinas, Calif., native compiled a 14-3 mark during his MMA career, earning wins over the likes of Junior dos Santos (twice), Brock Lesnar, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ben Rothwell, Cheick Kongo and Travis Browne. He was part of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)from 2019 to 2020 and has also competed for Mexican wrestling organization Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide.