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Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was released on $1 million bond on Tuesday, after spending eight months in jail on attempted murder and firearms assault charges.
Velasquez was seen by a videographer leaving the jail at 11:56 p.m. Before leaving the building, he waved to someone inside while carrying a paper bag. When outside, Velasquez spoke to the videographer saying: "I just feel blessed, ya know? Ready to go home. Be with loved ones. Family. Make something positive of this whole situation." He went on to thank everyone who supported him during this ordeal.
After having three previous bail requests denied, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Arthur Bocanegra permitted Velasquez to return home to his family.
Velasquez has been jailed since February after an 11-mile high-speed chase in which he rammed the pickup truck carrying a man accused of sexually abusing his 4-year-old son at a daycare center the abusers mother ran. Velasquez allegedly rammed the alleged abusers vehicle with his own pickup truck through congested streets in three Silicon Valley cities, according to the prosecution.
The man's stepfather was driving when Velasquez repeatedly fired a.40-caliber pistol at the car, injuring him in the arm and torso, according to the prosecution.
Velasquez filed a lawsuit against Harry Goularte in June, saying that Goularte had raped his young son at the daycare that Goularte's mother ran.
The Santa Clara County district attorney's office filed a lewd and lascivious acts with a minor charge against Goularte, 43. He entered a not-guilty plea.
The gunshots from Velasquez did not harm Goularte.
The UFC community rallied to support Velasquez after his arrest and incarceration. When the news first broke, UFC commentator Joe Rogan tweeted: "I would have done the same thing if not worse."