March 01, (THEWILL) – Cain Velasquez, the former UFC heavyweight champion, was detained after a shooting in San Jose, California, on Monday. Velasquez was arrested for attempted murder near a high school in San Jose around 3 pm local time.
The 39-year-old was the only one arrested even though the circumstances surrounding the incident are still unknown. He was still in police custody as of Tuesday morning, and he is due in court at noon local time on Wednesday.
Velasquez was a professional MMA fighter from 2006 to 2019 after a great collegiate wrestling career at Arizona State University.
He is best recognised for his time with the UFC, where he held the heavyweight title twice for a total of over three years, from 2008 to 2009. The fighter won the championship from current WWE star Brock Lesnar in 2010, and after losing it to Junior Dos Santos a year later, he won it back by defeating Dos Santos in 2012.
However, Velasquez lost the heavyweight belt for the second time to Fabricio Werdum in 2015, after successful title defences against Dos Santos and Antonio Silva.
His most recent bout took place in 2019 against Francis Ngannou. Velasquez lost in the first round via knockout, bringing his career record to 14-3 with 12 knockout victories.
Velasquez dabbled into pro wrestling after retiring from MMA, making his debut in 2019 for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. He then signed with WWE and began training with Lesnar shortly after.
But, he only had a few appearances for WWE and only had one broadcast match, losing by submission to Lesnar at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia in October 2019. Velasquez was released by WWE in April 2020, allowing him to return to AAA.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
