Author: Anton Tabuena

A cooking accident may put Guillermo Rigondeux’s career in jeopardy.

Guillermo Rigondeaux was hospitalized on Friday night, after he sustained injuries to his face and eyes that could jeopardize his decorated boxing career.

According to a report from the El Nuevo Herald, the former two-division world champion was in the middle of cooking a meal at home when a pressure cooker exploded on his face. Rigondeaux sustained facial injuries, but more concerning was the damage on his eyes that reportedly left him with just 20% of his vision.

“It’s really unfortunate,” Rigondeaux’s manager Alex Bornote said in the Spanish report. “When the (pressure cooker) exploded and we saw how Rigandoaux had turned out, we thought the worst, because the face and eyes looked very bad as a result of the impact of the explosion. But we hope he recovers.”

Various eye injuries — even those mild enough not to completely affect people’s daily lives — have sidelined numerous careers in both boxing and MMA. Bornote notes though that they’re having “several tests” done, and hoping he won’t need surgery and that it’s just a retina injury that can heal over time.

“In any case, this is a hard blow for Rigondeaux, because we were already working on an upcoming fight,” Bornote added. “The important thing now is that he fully recovers his vision and we will make a determination about his future later.”

Rigondeaux, now 41, has had a decorated career both as an amateur with two Olympic gold medalists, and as a professional where he was among the top pound-for-pound fighters during his prime. He’s a former two-division champion and held the super bantamweight belt from 2010-2017.

He fought less than a week before the accident, losing to Filipino fighter Vincent Astrolabio in a close upset decision that saw Rigondeaux dropped for the first time in several years.

The District Attorney says Cain Velasquez took “the law into his own hands” and only caused “more pain and suffering to his family.”

Cain Velasquez has been formally charged for his recent arrest.

As announced by the Santa Clara County District Attorney, the former UFC champion is now facing 10 charges: Attempted murder, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle or aircraft, three counts of assault with a firearm, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony.

More details were also revealed on the incident, where Velasquez was allegedly targeting Harry Eugene Goularte. The 43-year-old Goularte was charged with lewd acts with a minor, and is being accused of molesting children, including the UFC star’s family member.

ESPN reports that Goularte was released from jail on February 25, and was ordered to stay in home detention, and remain 100 yards away from any child under 14. Prosecutors allege that Goularte and two others were on their way to get his required electronic monitoring bracelet, when Velasquez pursued their vehicle.

According to the district attorney’s office, in an “11-mile, high-speed chase” through San Jose, Velasquez allegedly rammed the vehicle and shot at it “multiple times” with a 40-caliber handgun.

The UFC star was arrested soon after during a traffic stop.

“The sad tragedy is that Mr. Velasquez chose to take the law into his own hands, endangering the public and everyone in the truck,” Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “This act of violence also causes more pain and suffering to his family.”

Goularte was not injured during the chase and shooting. It was his 63-year-old step father that was reportedly hit in his arm and torso, and hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.

Velasquez is a two-time UFC heavyweight champion and former WWE pro wrestler. He could be facing decades in prison if convicted.

[CW: Child Abuse]

Cain Velasquez was arrested Monday afternoon, and charged with attempted murder following his alleged involvement in a shooting in San Jose, California. The two-time UFC champion is currently being held without bail at the Santa Clara County main jail.

While details on the incident were scarce early on, reports and court documents now show a possible motive for the shooting.

NBC Bay Area and Mercury News both detailed the alleged incident from police documents and various sources, reporting that Velasquez is accused of shooting at 43-year-old Harry Eugene Goularte.

Goularte was arrested the week prior, and is facing one felony count of a lewd and lascivious act with a child.

According to the criminal complaint, Goularte lives in a house that hosts a daycare business run by his mother. Goularte is being accused of touching a child in the daycare’s bathroom, with the alleged victim on record stating that he “witnessed several other children” go in there with Goularte as well.

Goularte denied any wrong doing, claiming he only “once helped a child with his pants.”

Both outlets report through multiple sources that one of the alleged victims is closely related to Velasquez. NBC Bay Area says court documents note that the alleged abuse on Velasquez’s family member may have happened “100 times.”

Goularte has been out of jail after reportedly being granted a “supervised” release, despite objections from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. Days later, Velasquez was arrested for allegedly shooting at a vehicle that Goularte and two others were in.

Goularte’s step father was said to be the one wounded and taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

If convicted, Velasquez could be facing fifteen years to life in prison for first degree attempted murder. More details should come to light after Velasquez is in arraigned on Wednesday.

Velasquez is a decorated MMA fighter that held the UFC heavyweight title on two separate occasions. He transitioned to pro-wrestling after his last MMA bout in 2019, signing with the WWE, and then now with AAA.

Cain Velasquez has been booked in jail and facing charges for attempted murder.

Cain Velasquez, a former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, was arrested in connection to an alleged shooting in San Jose on Monday.

Police announced that at around 3:14 pm on February 28, there was said to be “one adult male shot at least once and transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.” Velasquez was then arrested for his alleged involvement in the incident.

Additional details have now been released from the arrest, with the San Jose Police Department’s media relations posting Velasquez’s mugshot, and announcing that he is facing an attempted murder charge.

The 39-year-old is now at the Santa Clara County main jail north, and is being held without bail. According to records, Velasquez has a court appearance set for noon on Wednesday, March 2.

Velasquez had two stints as the UFC heavyweight champion, holding the belt from 2010-2011 and 2012-2015. He last fought back in 2019, and compiled a 14-3 record in MMA. He eventually transitioned to pro-wrestling, but was eventually cut by the WWE in 2020 due to budget cuts from the pandemic.

Cain Velasquez is being held without bail.

Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez has been arrested after his alleged involvement in a shooting in San Jose.

The San Jose Police Department’s media relations initially announced that a shooting occurred at 3:14 pm, with “one adult male shot at least once and transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries.”

The incident was said to have been near the intersection of Monterey Hwy and Bailey Ave, with one suspect already being held in custody.

NBC Bay Area first reported through their sources that Velasquez was allegedly part of the incident, but earlier noted how it was still unclear how he was involved. More details have since come in, with the former UFC and WWE star being confirmed to have been arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail.

Online records also show that the 39-year-old fighter is currently being held without bail, but details on the charges have yet to be made available.

Velasquez, a two-time UFC heavyweight champion, last fought in MMA back in 2019. He transitioned to pro-wrestling after, but was eventually cut by the WWE in 2020 due to budget cuts from the pandemic.

His coach, Javier Mendez from San Jose’s American Kickboxing Academy gym, recently hinted at a possible return to MMA competition for Velasquez.

Four Russian fighters could all be forced out of UFC London due to sanctions from the Ukraine war.

After Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine, several sanctions and penalties have been imposed on Russia — and Putin himself — by the US, UK, and its other allies.

The impact of this war is obviously immeasurable, and even just on the niche combat sports side of things, several athletes are already beginning to be affected as well.

Ukrainian former heavyweight boxing stars Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko have been directly involved from early on, as the latter is the current mayor of Kyiv. Current boxing world champions Vasiliy Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk have also both issued anti-war statements before returning to Ukraine. These multimillionaire athletes could’ve lived comfortably anywhere else, but have since decided to defend their home country.

Russian athletes are also starting to feel the sanctions imposed on their country. A member of the British Parliament announced on social media that “The UK will not welcome the national sports teams of those countries who are complicit in Putin’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

She stated that the visas of the Belarusian Men’s basketball team have been cancelled, and the ruling could also affect four UFC fighters looking to compete in London this March.

MMA Fighting reports that UFC officials are “looking into the situation for possible solutions.” It’s still unclear whether they’d look for replacements or try to move the fights on a different card, but UFC London’s main event and three other bouts are in jeopardy.

Russian heavyweight contender Alexander Volkov was supposed to headline the event against Tom Aspinall. Timur Valiev, Shamil Abdurakhimov and Sergei Pavlovich are also three other Russian fighters booked for the UFC event.

Volkov, the number six ranked UFC heavyweight, has headlined five UFC events in his career. The 33-year-old has also been a staple of the UFC’s EMEA events, having been part of six of their shows in the region since 2016.