Cain Velasquez: Former UFC champion arrested on attempted murder charge

The heavyweight, who has also featured in the WWE, was arrested in connection with the shooting of a man

Ex-UFC champion Cain Velasquez was arrested by San Jose Police Department (San Jose Police Department)

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been arrested on an attempted murder charge in connection with a shooting, the San Jose Police Department has said.

On Monday, the department’s media relations Twitter page said units were at the scene of a shooting, which had resulted in a man being “transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries”.

“One suspect in custody. Unknown motive or circumstances,” the tweet continued.

On Tuesday, a follow-up post read: “Cain Velasquez was the suspect arrested yesterday in connection with this incident. He was booked into Santa Clara County main jail for attempted murder.

“The motive and circumstances surrounding this incident are still under investigation at this time.”

Velasquez, 39, competed in the UFC between 2008 and 2019, before featuring in the WWE.

The American won the UFC heavyweight title from Brock Lesnar in October 2010, before losing it to Junior dos Santos in his next bout, in November 2011.

Velasquez later regained the title in rematch with Dos Santos in December 2012, eventually losing it with a defeat by Fabricio Werdum in June 2015.

After beating Travis Browne in July 2016, Velasquez did not compete in mixed martial arts for nearly three years.

He returned against Francis Ngannou in February 2019, losing via first-round TKO.

Later that year, Velasquez debuted in the WWE, before leaving the professional wrestling company in 2020.