Dana White, Khabib, More Write to Judge Requesting Cain Velasquez Be Granted Bail

Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group, Pool via AP

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was denied bail in his attempted murder case on Monday, but multiple figures in the combat sports world have expressed their support for him.

According to TMZ Sports, over 30 people wrote letters to Judge Shelyna Brown requesting that she let Velasquez post bail. Among the people to advocate for Velasquez were UFC president Dana White, UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, former lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov and former two-division titleholder Henry Cejudo.

Velasquez also had support from WWE superstar Rey Mysterio, Bellator president Scott Coker, Bellator heavyweight champ Ryan Bader, as well as UFC contenders Kelvin Gastelum, Islam Makhachev, Yair Rodriguez, Brandon Moreno and many others.

Brown wasn’t swayed by the letters, saying the “risk is too great” to let Velasquez out on bail because of the “extreme recklessness” of his alleged actions, per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.

Velasquez was arrested on Feb. 28 after allegedly attempting to shoot and kill 43-year-old Harry Goularte. The 39-year-old retired fighter allegedly fired shots into a vehicle and hit Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender, in the arm and torso. Bender was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Goularte, who is accused of molesting a child in Velasquez’s family multiple times, was released on Feb. 25 without bail against the district attorney’s wishes, according to Raimondi.

“Is there anybody out there who would say to a father that this is not what you should do?” Velasquez’s attorney Mark Geragos said Monday. “Is there anybody out there who finds it beyond the pale that a father was not consulted when they released the perpetrator back into the public with zero-dollar bail, yet they’re holding Cain on no bail? This is why people are disgusted—and rightfully so—with the criminal justice system.”

Velasquez’s next court date is set for April 12. He won’t be able to request bail again unless the district attorney adds or drops charges.