Cain Velasquez: Former UFC champion pleads no contest to attempted murder of man accused of sexually assaulting his relatives

SAN FRANCISCO — Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after shooting a man accused of sexually assaulting a relative of Velasquez in 2022, prosecutors in Northern California said.

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen's office said in a statement that Velasquez entered his guilty plea to aggravated assault and other weapons offenses in a San Jose courtroom on Friday as part of a negotiated agreement with prosecutors.

The trial for Velasquez, 42, was scheduled for next month. Velasquez, who retired from the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2019, still faces prison time, Rosen's office said. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

The man accused of sexually assaulting the then four-year-old male relative is the adult son of the woman who ran the daycare center the boy attended.

Prosecutors say Velasquez fired a handgun multiple times at a truck carrying the suspect and two other people during a chase in February 2022. Instead, he shot and wounded the suspect's stepfather.

The shooting occurred near an elementary school, “endangering young children and their parents who could have been injured or killed when he shot his intended victim,” Rosen said. “We have excellent law enforcement in this county. Let them do their jobs.”

Velasquez and his attorney, Renee Hessling, declined to comment after Friday's court hearing, the Bay Area News Group reported. Velasquez is free on bail.