Once American Kickboxing Academy (AKA), always American Kickboxing Academy. That’s how retired legend Khabib Nurmagomedov is assessing the current situation with his old teammate, Cain Velasquez, anyway.
Velasquez was jailed on March 1, 2022, after he allegedly pursued a suspected child molester in his truck before shooting off rounds of a firearm at said target. The driver of the targeted vehicle was hit by Velasquez’s fire. Struck was the alleged target’s father.
As a result, the former two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion is being held for multiple felonies. These include attempted murder, shooting at a 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.
Velasquez has since been denied bail as recently as May 16. For Nurmagomedov, this whole situation and its handling is hard to wrap his head around.
“In Russia, we can go and see anybody,” Nurmagomedov told TMZ Sports. “I don’t know the law here in U.S. I really want to go and see him (Velasquez). After a couple days, I’m gonna be in San Jose. I want to go see him, shake his hand, give him good energy. Anybody in the world who respects himself, who loves his family is gonna do same thing, exactly. Nobody going to think about law or something when you have something about family. You have to protect your family. If animals protect their family, of course humans protect their family.
“We talk about law, court, they hold him in jail, I don’t understand this thing,” he continued. “You always have to be fair, it’s not fair. He’s in jail and other guy is out. What about other guy? Put this guy [in] jail, too. He’s more dangerous for people than Cain Velasquez. Never in his life — he’s 40-years-old — never have he had problems [socially] outside with people, [in the] gym. He’s most respectful guy I ever seen in my life. I was training with him more than 10 years, I know his family, everybody loves Cain, what happened is like, this is his kids. I don’t understand how okay, you put him the jail, what about other guy? More dangerous than Cain. Cain only dangerous for one man in the world. But this guy dangerous for everybody and he’s outside, I don’t understand it.”
Nurmagomedov just recently held Eagle Fighting Championship 47 which was headlined by Velasquez’s most notable rival, Junior Dos Santos.