MMA Fighting - Reaction | Former UFC Heavyweight Champ Cain Velasquez Sentenced

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Cain Velasquez, former UFC heavyweight champion, found out his fate on Monday at this sentencing. MMA Fighting's Mike Heck and Damon Martin react to the breaking news. Follow Mike Heck: @m_heckjr Damon Martin: @DamonMartin Subscribe: http://goo.gl/dYpsgH Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/u8VvLi Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/eFhsvM Like MMAF on Facebook: http://goo.gl/uhdg7Z Follow on Twitter: http://goo.gl/nOATUI Read More: http://www.mmafighting.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Moments ago, we found out the fate for one Kane Velasquez. He was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading no contest to a variety of charges, including attempted murder following an initial arrest back in February 2022. We were wondering where this is going to go. Prosecutors in the case were seeking 30 years to life in prison for Kane Velasquez. And in the end, it ended up being five years. But there's a little bit more than meets the eye to the sentencing. And that's why I'm not the expert on this.

So let us bring in the man who has been falling along with all this since the very beginning from MMAFighting.com, Mr. Damon Martin. and Damon, all things considered here, and I want to let you sort of get into the meat and potatoes of everything that happened here. The prosecutors wanted 30 years to life in prison for Kane Velasquez after everything that happened. He ends up getting five.

This seems like it's obviously not a win for Kane Velasquez to serve time in prison, obviously, but all things considered, especially what the prosecution was looking for, this is about as good of a win as it could possibly be all things considered. Is that a fair statement? I think so.

And you also have to remember when the original charges were levied against Kane, it was premeditated attempted murder, which if he got convicted of that charge, that's a mandatory life sentence. So when he pled no contest, that mandatory sentence got tossed off the table, so he was never going to get life in prison. But obviously he was going to get something here.

And I think you've got to remember, so the sentence handed down by Judge Arthur Bocanegra, who you have to remember was also the judge who actually gave him bail after he sat in jail for eight months, when another judge had denied him bail several times, it was Judge Arthur Bokenegger, who ultimately granted him bail and basically living on house arrest at that point

with an ankle monitor after his initial release. He got a five-year sentence, but he also gets credit for time served, which is about three years. He spent eight months actually behind bars and there are two years living with the ankle monitor. So by the time it's all said and done, Kane-Balaska will only spend,

about two years in prison, maybe even a little bit less when it's all said and done depending on how the math works out. So two years in prison, considering, you know, they, I mean, this could have been premeditated attempted murder could have been life in prison mandatory sentence. Again, as you said, it's not the perfect scenario for King of Velazquez with his family and everything they're going through with his son. And that court case is still ongoing right now. But getting less than two years is a far, far better outcome than what the prosecution wanted, which was 30 years to life. So ultimately, you know, you kind of wonder where it was going to go 30 years to life. The defense wanted nothing.

They wanted no prison time to get five years and ultimately end up getting two years, basically. Again, it's not a win because anytime you go to prison, that's not a win. But the way things could have played out, this is not the worst case scenario for King of Lasquez. For the last three years, we've been reacting to sort of different things that happened along the way. And predictions were sort of made. Like, how long would he spend in prison? How is this going to work?

Because obviously there's a lot of people, especially parents out there who have taken Kane Velasquez's side and all of this. It's not easy to put themselves in cane shoes. But a lot of parents say, well, I probably would have done the same thing. The free Kane movement isn't going on forever. In your heart of hearts, were you surprised by the amount of years and the sentence that he got? Or is this sort of what you expected?

So I'm not saying I'm a prognosticator by any stretch of the imagination, but somebody asked me earlier today, like, what do I think it was going to, what, what do I think it was going to be? And I actually said, I think he'll get five years. That was actually my prediction, only because I don't think there was any way he was going to walk away. You know, you don't, you know, when you go on an 11-mile car chase and firing a 40-caliber weapon at a car with the potential of hitting bystanders, innocent people in the sidewalks, streets, whatever the kids. case would be there's no way you're going to walk away without doing jail time. That just was not, that was just not a possibility. Obviously what Kane and his family have gone through with the allegations that his young son was molested at a daycare, every parent on earth has to sympathize with King Velazquez in some way, shape, or form. And even if you don't have kids, I think you have

to sympathize with Kane Velasquez and some way, shape, or form. But there was just no way the justice system was going to say you could go on an 11-mile rampage. through the streets and firing a weapon out of your car window without doing some sort of prison time. And I know Kane had talked on the Kyle Kingsbury podcast and said, you know, listen, I accept whatever punishment they give me. I was wrong. And I think that goes a long way to what he's actually going to do here, which again, again, it's not perfect.

And it's sad that he has to be away from his family, especially right now. But, you know, two years in prison when the worst case scenario would have been a mandatory life sentence, again, not the not the worst outcome. So, I mean, at the beginning, I said the three-year-long saga comes to an end. And as you sort of noted out, it really doesn't because Harry Galarte, I believe is his name. He is about to, you know, kind of face his day in court with everything that happened, which stem this incident to begin with. Do you know when he is due back in court for all of this? It is April.

I'm not sure the exact date I have to double check. I believe it is towards the end of April, his next court date. It's been, Harry Galarte is a man, his mother owns a daycare where Kane Velasquez's son was cared for. And that is where the alleged molestation happened. And he was arrested and charged. And this entire, you know, ordeal started because Harry Galarte was arrested and charged. But then he was released on bail against the advice of the prosecution. They didn't want to let him out.

Judge decide differently. He gave him bail. And that is basically the day that Kane Velasquez went on this rampage going after. because he found out this guy was getting released from jail on bail. So, yes, his court case is still playing out. He's pled not guilty. I believe the next court date is in April, though I'd have to double check to make sure that's still accurate

because his dates get changed a lot. But his is still ongoing, and there's no word yet if he is going to him going to trial. If he's going to plead out, that remains to be seen. Remember, Kane Velasquez was preparing to go to trial in January, and then he ended up pleading no contest. And obviously, that was kind of, hedging his bets, I guess, the best way to say it to, you know, if he got convicted,

the potential going to life for prison, life in prison without, you know, for the conviction of premeditated attempted murder. And, you know, obviously two years ultimately in prison is far better than that. So it remains to be seen what happens with Harry Delarte. He is facing some very serious charges. There's also a lawsuit pending against him and his mother's daycare for everything that's happened. So again, that's also got to play out in court. And the civil lawsuits usually take way longer than the actual criminal law. I mean, we're three years in on the Cane of Alaska thing right now. That's a long time.

The civil trial could be another two or three years from now. We'll have to wait and see how that plays out. How does this situation, and again, because it's so different, because of so many people who have Keynes back through all of this, not just fighters, not just parents, but it seems the majority of folks have Keynes back. They understand why he needs to serve some time for all the things that you just mentioned. but not just being UFC heavyweight champion, just all of this. How does this sort of define his legacy?

Does it take a hit? Does it help it? Like what do you think five years, 10 years from now when the younger generation of MMA fan jumps on a show with us and asks, telling me about Kane Velasquez and his legacy? How do you think you'll be able to explain that? I know this. I don't want to make it sound terrible to say it like this.

And I certainly don't want to diminish what a serious crime this is, but I don't think this is going to, I don't think this is going to hugely damage what his legacy is going to be. While, again, he's going to prison, I think every prison sentence, every conviction has to come along with a footnote about what it's about.

You know what I mean? And listen, I did a crime show maybe like a year ago or six months ago where they had me on and they were talking and actually one of the guests on the show was a kid who was molested by a martial arts instructor, if I remember correctly.

and his dad actually shot and killed the guy as he was on his way to court. And the father ended up not getting convicted of anything because at that point, it was such a public case. This is, I think, in the 80s. They basically said there was no jury that was going to convict this guy because he was basically protecting his son. And I know that, you know, again, there's better ways to protect your son. You should not take vigilante justice.

But they basically recognized, like, there's no way. No jury was going to convict this guy because they had the other guy dead to rights. So I think, again, just like any other criminal conviction, you've got to look at how it happened and why it happened. Again, I'm not justifying in any way, shape, or form what Kane Velasquez did. And the fact that Kane Velasquez has now come out and said, I regret it, I apologize, it was a horrible thing to do. That's great. And that is the right thing to say. But in the moment, you know, this isn't a guy who got drunk and plowed over people in his car.

This isn't a guy who robbed a liquor store. this isn't a guy who was involved in a horrific domestic violence case. This is a guy who found out his child was being molested, and he went after the guy who molested him. Again, not saying he should have done it. I'm just saying it's the circumstances. So will it be mentioned? Sure.

You're not going to do a prison stint without it being a footnote on your legacy, but I don't think ultimately this is going to completely alter the way we look at Kane Velasquez five, ten, twenty years from now. I would agree with that. And if you guys haven't listened to him on the Kyle Kingsbury podcast, it's pretty wild to just see where his mindset is after this whole situation, even saying that he's forgiven the family and, you know, forgiven the accused and all of that. It just his mind is just in a really interesting spot right now, how much he's sort of grown from this. And just in essence, he just wants a situation to kind of help people and understand like this is what's happening in the world right now. He just wants people to learn from his mistakes and have open and honest communication with your kids just to realize like this stuff happens and it's okay to have these conversations and let your kids know like this is not right. This is what is right. If anything like this happens, you need to tell us. And that's sort of the hope through all of this for Kane. And seems like his kids are doing really well after all this.

mentioned a lot about his son being really funny and just being really strong with it. And it's a must listen. It's definitely very emotional. And if you're looking for the exact time where he mentions this is probably like the last 15 or so minutes of the podcast. And it gets it gets pretty heavy. So highly recommend you listen to that. That is the news as right now. I don't want to put you on this spot.

Can I, I say this in all honesty because I'm not apparent. Like can I ask you, Mike, like your reaction? Because you are a parent. Like you are a parent. I'm not. Like, I can only react from like the outside looking in and I can say, I understand how it would feel as apparent. But I'm not apparent.

I can't honestly say that. It's, I understand what he's going through. The whole, every time this is mentioned, it angers me to a whole different place for a lot of the reasons that you just mentioned. And it's because I am a dad. And there's, I mean, there's, it was just undeniable. There's no way I could not think of my son as all this is happening. and like what I would do and you know you can't do that stuff but I can't say that I wouldn't do

the same if I was in cane shoes like it's the whole thing just it makes me a little it makes me upset I'm trying to say professional things here but I I feel the way most do about this situation and I again not justifying what he did was correct but at the same time when I do the same I'm not going to say that I that the thought wouldn't pop into my head to not do the same. You know what I mean? So yeah. I'm sorry to put you on the spot. I just say that because for me, like I'm angry.

And like when I heard it, I was like, yeah, like I probably would have the exact same thoughts. And I'm not, again, I'm not justifying what happened in any way, shape, or form. I'm just saying like, I don't have kids. And I was angry. And I was like, oh my, I couldn't even imagine my reaction. You are a dad though. Like, and I think you're having the natural reaction. Again, I'm not justifying what happened.

I'm not, I want people coming and say, oh, you're saying he was right. I'm just saying I understand. Oh, yeah, 1,000 percent would agree with you. But we do have terrific people, terrific fans who wanted to hear our reactions to this. So let's, for the next five or ten minutes or so, let's hear from the peeps and see what they have to say about all this. Our wonderful producer, Casey Leiden, will throw some thoughts and questions up on the screen. And we will react to said thoughts and questions. So Casey, anybody chiming in here.

Kane did nothing wrong. I mean, it's such a slippery slope because of, you know, like, we want it. Like, it's hard because you want to trust in law enforcement to do the right thing. But then when the prosecution says, hey, don't let this guy out on bail and the judge disagrees and lets the guy out on bail, again, I don't justify what happens, but your natural reaction is going to be anger, rage, upset. That, I mean, you know, so, yeah, it's a horrible thing. And listen, you also got to remember the way this whole thing ended, you know, with the gun being fired, the person who actually got shot in this whole thing was Harry Gularte's stepfather.

He's the one who actually got hit by a bullet. I would say, you know, obviously, you know, things could have gone far, far worse. But, yeah, so, I mean, it's just a horrific situation. And, again, I can't say I would have reacted any differently. But, yeah, it's just, it's an awful. situation. And again, anytime in prison, you know, is bad, but the way it turned out, it's not the worst case scenario. Yeah. And you kind of, just try to put myself in Kane's shoes, you kind of hope that the justice system will have your back here. And there's probably a part of him who was

already angry. And that was just the straw that broke the camel's back, essentially. So, uh, for us, will Kane get time off for good behavior? So you kind of talked about the structuring of the sentence. How does that look? Will that factor into this? at all. So as I mentioned, it's a five-year sentence and he gets time already served, which is about three years. So technically he's got about a two-year prison sentence when it's all said and done. Can he get time off for good behavior or what's considered good behavior? Yes, potentially, depending on the kind of work programs he does in prison, depending on where they put him at. Again, we don't know where he's going to serve this time at. It's California. There's a lot of different

options. But he can get time reduced for certain things he does in prison. Like he may, I'm making this up. Don't take this as testament, but he could get a job where he's like teaching inmates or he's helping inmates or he's doing something to that effect and they give him what is called good time. And he could get a reduced sense. Now, will that be like a year off?

I doubt it. But he can get months off or weeks off depending on how things go. So again, my guess is, my assumption is when this is all said and done, Kane will end up doing less than two years in prison. Thank you, Forrest. And we'll see if there's another couple more to get to before we head on out of here. If not, we will get on out of here. No, we're good.

We're good. We're good. All right. So Kane Velazquez gets a five-year prison sentence, as Damon alluded to multiple times, gets credit for time served. So it's also going to be around a two-year sentence. Could he get months off? We will see.

Before we wrap this up, Damon, final thoughts. You know, you've been on this beat for three years. now, now that it's sort of come to an end at least on the Kane Velasquez side of things, what's your final reaction to all of this? There's no way not to be a little heartbroken just because, you know, you know, Kane's going to now be away from his child who he was protecting and who he was so angered that this happened to him. And now he has to unfortunately be away from his child for another, you know, two years

or less than two years, hopefully. It's heartbreaking. And again, this is one of those situations where, like, when people are saying, Kane did nothing wrong. Kane shouldn't serve a day in prison. I can't say I don't understand those feelings. Because again, this isn't a situation where he was just doing something horrific. It was protecting his child.

And I get that. I understand that instinct. So, yeah, it's just heartbreaking. Again, I think I'm just, in a way, like, I'm glad it's over because I'm sure this is the worst year the last three years for Kane has probably been horrible, too, not knowing. I mean, I couldn't even imagine doing what he's been going through, just not knowing like what's going to be the result.

And the prosecution asking for 30 years to life. You don't know. You're standing there in that courtroom. The judge could say, okay, I agree with him. And you're going to get 25 years or something, you know, like you don't know. So, you know, I'm just glad it's over. And hopefully Kane will be home sooner rather than later. And he'll be able to help his son and get through what is I'm still,

I'm sure is still a very horrific time. And hopefully he can find peace. Hopefully his family can find peace. And that's really all we. can say here. So five years for Kane Velasquez, time served already in play, which is around three years. So two years, maybe a little bit less for the former UFC heavyweight champion. And with that, we are done. Thank you very much. That is our breaking news report for Monday in regards to the ending of the Kane Velasquez side of this case. But it's not completely over yet.

There is another trial for Harry Galarte as well. And we will let you know how that all goes. So for Damon Martin, shout out to Casey on the once and twos. I am Mike Eck. Thank you for watching. Have a good rest of your night, everybody. You're listening to the Vox Media Podcast Network. Unwrap holiday magic at Holt Renfrew with gifts that say I know you. From festive and cozy fashion to Lux Beauty and Fragrance Sets.

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