Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is currently behind bars in Santa Clara County while his attorneys battle multiple charges — including attempted murder — following a public and somewhat messy shootout that took place earlier this year.
Get the latest on that pending court case right here.
Velasquez has been in contact with many of his friends and teammates and recently spoke to fellow American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) product and former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, who called to check on the jailed heavyweight.
“Yes, just before the flight I had a phone call with him for 5-7 minutes,” Nurmagomedov said. “If I’m not mistaken, they only get one phone call from jail per day. I know that he talks to his kids, to his family. I got 5-7 minutes or so to have a word with Cain. I was surprised that he manages to hold himself in high spirits. We talked, we even laughed a bit, we discussed some details of his case. Although I’m not going to reveal those, it is what it is. God chose to test him in this way, in this particular place at that particular moment. And he has to go through this.”
Velasquez, who turned 40 just last month, pleaded “not guilty” in his latest court appearance and will return for a pre-trial hearing on Sept. 26. Multiple attempts to have the former WWE wrestler freed on bail proved to be unsuccessful (more on that here).
A civil suit (filed by Velasquez) is also playing out in the same court.
As for Nurmagomedov, he made the transition from fighter to promoter and is expected to bring his Eagle FC promotion back to the states later this year. The 33 year-old “Eagle” was recently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame after a perfect 29-0 professional MMA career.