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UFC fighters are urging President Trump to step in and pardon former UFC heavyweight Cain Velasquez. On Monday, Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison for a 2022 shooting where he fired a gun at a truck carrying three people, which included 46-year-old Harry Goularte, who is currently facing felony child molestation charges.
“One man’s decision to take the law into his own hands left an innocent man wounded and endangered schoolchildren, teachers, and many others in our community,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “If you want to do justice in Santa Clara County, please apply for a badge.”
Velasquez’s attorneys praised the judge’s ruling in the case.
“I do think that the court made a good decision today,” Hessling said. “One that takes into consideration all of the complexities of this case, the context about why this happened, and also takes into consideration who all of us know Mr. Velasquez to be, which is fundamentally a good man and a good father.”
Velasquez will likely spend less than two years in prison after getting time served, but some UFC fighters want President Trump to pardon the former UFC champ.
FREE CAIN. We can only hope that Dana has spoke to Trump about this. Hopefully Trump can somehow pardon him – to the dismay of only the poison to our society
— Oban Elliott Official (@obanelliottufc) March 24, 2025
Free Cain.@realDonaldTrump
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) March 24, 2025
While Trump can’t pardon Velasquez since he wasn’t charged with a federal crime, Jorge Masvidal is calling on California governor Gavin Newsom to step in.
“Let’s hope somebody over there in California, somebody can write this man a pardon, maybe Newsom will write it,” Masvidal told ABC 7 News. “I know it’s a state thing so there’s not much that President Trump can do but I’d still like to ask President Trump and his amazing cabinet and esteemed colleagues to look into this.”