(KRON) -- Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez recently opened up about his attempt to seek vigilante justice against a suspected child molester. The MMA star was interviewed on a podcast, The Shawn Ryan Show, about his childhood, professional mixed martial arts fighting career, murder attempt, and time in jail.
Four years ago, the UFC fighter sought revenge against a man who allegedly molested one of Velasquez’s young children at a daycare, according to prosecutors. The accused child molester, Harry Goularte, lived at his mother’s home daycare, Patty’s Childcare, in San Martin.
Prosecutors said Velasquez took the law into his own hands when he chased Goularte’s pickup truck and drove 100 miles per hour from Morgan Hill to San Jose. Velasquez fired bullets through his own windshield toward the fleeing truck, Deputy District Attorney Aaron French said.
Francis Ngannou and Cain Velasquez, right, touch gloves prior to their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event on February 17, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa via Getty Images)
"He pursued and hunted. The defendant chose to impose and execute a death sentence for Harry Goularte," French said. Goularte survived the shooting.
During the podcast interview, Velasquez explained that his child told him about being molested by Goularte. The fighter immediately alerted law enforcement authorities. The suspected child molester was arrested, released from jail within 48 hours, and returned to living at the daycare.
Goularte's mother owned and operated the daycare in her San Martin house.
On the morning of Feb. 28, 2022, Velasquez took his child to the zoo and received an email from Goularte's mother. In the email, she denied the allegations against her son and said she intended to keep her daycare open.
"That f**kin' blew my mind. The system f**king sucks, it's broken. All these things start running through my mind," Velasquez told Ryan on the podcast.
Cain Velasquez appears for his arraignment with his attorney at the Hall of Justice, Nov. 21, 2022, in San Jose. (Pool / Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group via AP)
Velasquez explained that he decided to go for a drive alone to help clear his head, with his gun in the truck. Velasquez said he's never seen Goularte around town, but that day, he saw him. He said, "It was like God telling me, look, they are in front of you now, now what?"
Velasquez said he decided to follow the pickup truck that Goularte, Goularte's mother, and stepfather were traveling in. "I lost it. I f**king lost the will to live. Didn't care about dying. I was in a different place at that moment. I wasn't maneuvering within the parameters of ... normal life. So I did what I did," he told Ryan.
"All of them were guilty. Their truck was shot up," the UFC fighter said. The stepfather suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds as Goularte's truck was riddled with bullet holes.
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When the chase reached San Jose, police officers managed to pull the MMA fighter's vehicle over and arrest him.
Cain Velasquez has his hands wrapped backstage during a UFC Fight Night event on February 17, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Roach / Zuffa via Getty Images)
Looking back at crime scene photos, 43-year-old Velasquez said he realizes innocent bystanders could have been hurt. "It could have been much worse," he said.
While being held in solitary confinement at a San Jose jail for nine months, the UFC champ said he didn't let incarceration break him down mentally. "I knew it was part of my path. The solitude was a blessing. Whenever do we get the chance to have true solitude, unless you're like a monk? To be comfortable, truly comfortable with yourself. You got these four walls ... I'm in this little room for 21 hours a day. I am my best friend, and I have to be. You create your happiness."
Despite feeling claustrophobic like a mouse in a cage, "I told myself ... you are going to get comfortable right here right now. I stayed happy within myself," he told Ryan. Velasquez maintained a strong mindset through gratitude and celebrating "little wins," like seeing red-tailed hawks through the window, he said, "I love the way they fly."
The attempted murder case never went to trial. Velasquez said he had enough faith in the judge that he decided to accept responsibility and put his future in the judge's hands. "I understand what I did was wrong," he told Ryan.
Velasquez pleaded “no contest” to attempted murder. He was sentenced by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Arthur Bocanegra to a five-year prison term -- the minimum sentence allowed under California law. Prosecutors had asked for a maximum sentence of 25 years-to-life in prison. The judge said he took many factors into account when making his sentencing decision, citing Velasquez's clean prior criminal record, sincere remorse, and accepting full responsibility.
The UFC fighter was released from prison one year after his sentencing. Today, Velasquez said he appreciates freedom more than ever.
Meanwhile, Goularte has remained out of custody ever since his 2022 arrest. The child molestation case is still slowly working it way toward a trial after repeated delays. Goularte has pleaded not guilty, and he was scheduled to return to court on Feb. 1, 2027 to set a date for his trial.
