Cain Velasquez, the former UFC mixed-martial arts champion who fought out of San Jose, was paroled from prison Sunday — less than a year after being sentenced for an attempted murder conviction for chasing then shooting at the family of a man charged with sexually abusing his son.
Cain Velasquez, the South Bay-trained former UFC champion convicted of shooting at a man charged with molesting his young child, arrives for his sentencing at the Hall of Justice on Monday, March 24, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. Velasquez was released Feb. 15, 2026, after less than a year in prison. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group file photo)
Velasquez, 43, who became eligible for parole this month, announced his imminent release in a social-media post this weekend, which was confirmed to this news organization by his criminal-defense attorney Renee Hessling on Sunday.
Patty Bender, mother of the man accused of abusing Velasquez’s child and wife of the man injured in the 2022 shooting, said she was upset that she found out about the release through media reports.
“We are frustrated that we were not notified,” Bender said Monday, adding that her family wasn’t given an opportunity to speak at Velasquez’s parole evaluation.
“Not once have I heard from anybody. Then to see on blogs on the internet about his release … we would have liked the opportunity to speak and show up and fulfill our rights as a victim,” she added. “This man shot up a community. Because you did 10 months of rehabilitation doesn’t mean you’re cured. That’s a lifelong process that you will have to be diligent with, or you will end up in the same position, and so will the community.”
Velasquez, who retired from MMA in 2019, is a former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, having earned title belts in 2010 and 2012. He lived in South Santa Clara County for several years and has long been associated with the American Kickboxing Academy in South San Jose, where he trained as he gained prominence.
On the afternoon of Feb. 28, 2022, Harry Goularte Jr. was being driven by his mother and stepfather, Paul Bender, to San Jose so Goularte could get fitted for an ankle monitor. Wearing the device was a requirement of his supervised release after being charged the previous week with abusing Velasquez’s child at the longtime daycare that Patty Bender operated out of her San Martin home.
Authorities said Velasquez had begun following the Benders as they left San Martin. Shortly after Goularte got into their pickup truck in Morgan Hill, authorities say, Velasquez shot at him, touching off an 11-mile high-speed car chase through the city that ended near Monterey Road and Bailey Avenue on the southern reaches of San Jose.
Velasquez used his pickup to ram the Benders’ truck before he fired several shots at the three with a .40-caliber pistol, wounding Paul Bender in the arm and torso, then fled. Velasquez surrendered to a responding Morgan Hill police officer shortly afterward.
He 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 asked for 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.”
He 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. While explaining his decision, he said the crime was “unique and unlike any other case this court has presided over,” and that he heavily weighed Velasquez’s belief at the time that his child had been sexually assaulted.
Velasquez ultimately served about a year in prison, mostly at a state facility outside Salinas, after deducting the time he spent in county jail following the shooting and his supervised pretrial release on $1 million bail — also issued by Bocanegra. Velasquez traveled out of state during his supervised release to participate in wrestling and fighting events under a work exception, including serving as a corner man, a coaching role, at a UFC match in Las Vegas.
In his weekend social media announcement, he did not address his conviction other than stating his prison release date.
Patty Bender previously criticized what she described as the judge’s deference to the allegations against her son, 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.
The Benders have said that because of the shooting and its publicity, as well as Velasquez’s fame and fervent following, they were effectively exiled from the South County community where they lived for decades, 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 allegation against her son and the shooting.