‘Free him!’: UFC champ Cain Velasquez sentenced to 5 years by tearful judge after shooting at the man who allegedly molested his son

Anger, sympathy, and indignation has erupted online as former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison for attempted murder. Yesterday the fighter pleaded no contest to the charge, which stemmed from an incident in 2022 in which Velasquez was involved in a high-speed pursuit and fired a handgun at the other vehicle.

Said vehicle contained Harry Goularte and his family. Goularte ran a daycare attended by Velasquez’s four-year-old attended, and had been recently arrested for repeatedly molesting the boy. Velasquez was, understandably, blind with rage. One of his shots hit and penetrated the car, striking Goularte’s passenger Paul Bender.

Velasquez pleading no contest meant his punishment was at the judge’s discretion. Prosecutors demanded 30 years to life, while the defense argued he didn’t deserve any time behind bars. At the hearing those in attendance reported the judge had tears in his eyes as he said keeping Velasquez separated from his son was punishment in its own right.

BREAKING: UFC champ Cain Velasquez was sentenced to 5 years in prison, with 1,283 days credit for time served. The judge was choked up and had tears in his eyes. He said keeping a son from his father was the worst punishment, and he gave Cain the lightest possible sentence. pic.twitter.com/tnqPaHZtiQ

— Amy Larson (@AmyLarson25) March 24, 2025

He proceeded to give Velasquez the lightest possible sentence for the crime: five years in prison. Velasquez was behind bars for nine months, then on conditional release, and so has served 1,283 days, meaning he now has 542 days left to serve, with a release date of Feb. 28, 2027.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen didn’t sound happy, saying: “One man’s decision to take the law into his own hands left an innocent man wounded and endangered schoolchildren, teachers, and many others in our community. If you want to do justice in Santa Clara County, please apply for a badge.”

Goularte’s family dismissed the molestation allegation as “unfounded”, saying “We are looking for the opportunity in Harry’s case to prove that as we do have ample amount of evidence to do that. It’s sad that the court system and the public can be influenced by simply somebody stating something with no facts.”

But the reaction online has been almost universal sympathy for him and demands for him to be freed immediately.

It’s crazy that Cain Velásquez was sentenced to 5 years!!! The only thing he did wrong was missing the target!!!

— Renato Moicano (@moicanoufc) March 25, 2025

Cain Velasquez will be out soon. He has 1200+ days credited to his sentence. My thing is this, why is the pedophile that molested his son free? Our country fails our kids when it let’s those assholes be free& a slap on the wrist. Kids die mentally after sa. Life is never the same

— Jess blahblah (@Jessisamessnsht) March 25, 2025

Gutted for the Velasquez family. What he did was wrong, he said so himself. But I can only imagine the rage he had towards some dude trying to hurt his kid.

Enough time was served, he hasn’t been a threat to anyone while at home. He should’ve been able to go home to his family.

— Gorgeous George (@MMAJunkieGeorge) March 24, 2025

But Velasquez appears to have accepted his punishment as justice being served, saying: “What I did was not correct. I understand that. I paid, and I’ll pay whatever else as far as what I have to do to pay all that back. I don’t think I can pay it back, but I can always learn from my mistakes and help others.” With pleas to clemency from officials, we may yet see Velasquez freed early. Meanwhile, all eyes are on Goulart’s impending trial for molestation.