Cain Velasquez Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez arrested for attempted murder

Two-time former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez hasn't competed in the promotion since his 2019 retirement coming off a 26-second loss to current titleholder Francis Ngannou.

Velasquez has since dabbled in professional wrestling, but the 39-year-old's name was in headlines for a much different reason late Monday night into Tuesday. 

Per Marc Raimondi of ESPN, the San Jose Police Department confirmed Velasquez was arrested Monday and booked into Santa Clara County jail for attempted murder regarding a shooting in the city that left one adult male hit and dealing with non-life-threatening injuries. Velasquez has been identified as the alleged shooter and is being held without bail. He has a court date scheduled for Wednesday. 

"The motives and circumstances surrounding this incident are still under investigation at this time," San Jose Police said in a brief statement. 

Velasquez accumulated an overall record of 14-3-0 as a professional and is widely respected as one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of competitive mixed martial arts. He defeated Brock Lesnar to first claim the UFC heavyweight crown in October 2010, lost the strap to Junior dos Santos in November 2011, but then beat Dos Santos to reclaim the title in late December 2012. 

Velasquez held the belt for over two years before he fell to Fabricio Werdum in June 2015.

Since his retirement from MMA, Velasquez has made appearances in World Wrestling Entertainment and, more recently, in Mexico's AAA this past December. 

Velasquez's team did not respond to an ESPN call for comment on Tuesday morning.

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