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Upon his release from prison, former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez was reportedly spotted returning at the American Kickboxing Academy.
Velasquez, who is recognised as one of the greatest athletes to have ever competed in his weight class, spent the bulk of 2022 in prison after being detained and accused of attempting to murder.
The 40-year-old Californian is charged with following and firing at a car that was purportedly carrying a person who had allegedly assaulted the four-year-old son of Velasquez at a daycare. After allegedly firing shots and hitting the man's stepfather, who was also in the car, Velasquez was detained.
In addition to the nine additional counts stemming from the alleged chase in February, Velasquez still faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the attempted murder charge.
Velasquez can be seen returning to the MMA gym in San Jose in a recent video that instructor and Founder of the American Kickboxing Academy Javier Mendez posted on YouTube. As the former UFC champion enters the building, Mendez makes jokes about his prolonged absence.
“Hey, you just can’t walk past me without saying anything,” Mendez said. “Who are you? What are you doing here? I don’t recognize you.”
Velasquez responded by noting he’s right where he needs to be.
Later on, Velasquez can be seen sparring and grappling on the mats before passing on his skills to the next generation of MMA fighters.
Usman Nurmagomedov, the current Bellator Lightweight Champion, is pictured receiving one-on-one instruction from the legendary heavyweight. The Dagestani, a distant relative of Khabib Nurmagomedov, defeated Patricky Pitbull to win the gold medal in November.