Cain Velasquez was emotional when thanking those who supported him during his legal troubles and prison sentence.
In February 2025, Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison for the attempted murder of Harry Goularte, who is accused of molesting Velasquez’s son at a daycare facility. That case is ongoing, and includes a civil lawsuit from Velasquez, as well.
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The 43-year-old was released on parole in February after nearly 11 months in Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, Calif. Velasquez was given credit for 1,283 days time served at the time of his sentencing.
Velasquez spoke out on Instagram for the first time since getting released.
“Now that it’s been a couple weeks since my release, I’ve had some time to kind of get back into things, get back into a normal way of life, get used to just doing the normal things, being in the home with the family, being there for my kids,” Velasquez said. “And I just wanted to thank everybody for their love and support. Your words of inspiration, of encouragement constantly just lifted me up, myself and my family. You have no idea what your words and your encouragement and your love has meant to me and my family.
“So just thank you. I’ll keep doing the work to get back to everyone. And just for myself now, just slowly get back out there. I didn’t want to overwhelm myself with the pace of life that I was getting used to, to now all of a sudden, a new way of life, a new way of living, a new rhythm. So for myself, I just had to kind of get used to it, and I’ve been doing that. So again, just thank you. Thank you. Thank you everyone, and it’s good to be out.”
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Velasquez, a former UFC heavyweight champion, retired from MMA in 2019. He pursued a pro wrestling career after, making appearances for WWE and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Grateful Cain Velasquez releases statement after prison release
