Cain Velasquez Opens Up on 2022 Shooting, Prison, and Parole

Cain Velasquez has finally detailed the February 2022 day that ended his life as a free man. Speaking on the Shawn Ryan Show, the 44-year-old former two-time UFC heavyweight champion recounted the 11-mile high-speed chase through Santa Clara County in which he fired roughly two clips at a vehicle carrying Harry Goularte, a man accused of molesting Velasquez's young son.

The timeline is brutal in its simplicity. Velasquez was arrested on Feb. 28, 2022. In August 2024 he pleaded no-contest to a slate of charges including attempted murder, drawing a five-year sentence. He secured parole in February 2026 after credit for time served, house arrest, and a nine-month stretch in solitary confinement.

What Set It Off

Velasquez says it started when his son disclosed what had allegedly been happening at his daycare. The family did what you're supposed to do, he said — filed a report, called authorities. Then, by his account, Goularte was booked and released by that Friday with no ankle monitor, out for the weekend while the system sat idle.

The breaking point, Velasquez said, came after the daycare's owner reportedly sent a mass email dismissing the allegations as false and announcing plans to reopen. He described taking his son to the zoo to escape the chaos, then going for a drive afterward with his gun on him — half-wishing he'd cross paths with Goularte, something he says he'd never done in public before.

The Chase

That day, he did. Velasquez said he followed the vehicle as it went to pick up Goularte and then lost what he called his will to live — not caring about dying, not caring about anything. He opened fire during the pursuit. Goularte's stepfather, who Velasquez maintains was complicit, was hit in the arm. No one else was struck, though Velasquez acknowledged the chase passed through traffic where bystanders could easily have been caught in it.

Four years of legal fighting followed. Velasquez framed the nine months in solitary as a kind of blessing — a stretch he believes was part of a larger path, and one he says opened up conversations about abuse that people rarely speak about. Harry Goularte was facing child molestation charges at the time of the shooting; the current status of that case is unknown.