Cain Velasquez Shares “Rare, Unfiltered” Inside Details of Life in Prison

Cain Velasquez, the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, is revealing his story like never before from inside Soledad State Prison. Through Sundays with Cain, a weekly series produced by Roll & Rumble Fight Co., the two-time champ sits down with a fellow inmate for candid conversations about life, purpose, and the mindset that sustains him behind bars. It is raw, unfiltered, and centered on the man that the UFC legend is becoming.

If you recall, Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison in March 2025 for an incident in 2022 that shook the MMA community. He pursued a man accused of molesting his young son, firing into his vehicle during a high-speed chase. One round struck the man’s stepfather, resulting in non-life-threatening injuries. As a result, Velasquez pleaded no contest to attempted murder and felony assault, making a confession and admitting that his act endangered bystanders.

Now housed at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, Velasquez has found a different kind of fight. Five days a week, he leads breathwork sessions for 20 to 50 inmates, teaching techniques he believes can provide peace and clarity even within prison walls. On those days, ‘Sundays with Cain’ provides a rare connection to the outside world, allowing him to talk about mental health, purpose, and plant medicine.

All topics are far distant from the Octagon but vital to his life today. According to Roll & Rumble’s Instagram, the series is “not about headlines; it’s about transformation,” and it depicts Velasquez’s path as one of intense self-reflection. “Follow the Sundays with Cain series for a rare, unfiltered look at the man, the mindset, and the movement he’s building from within Soledad’s walls.” The episode from last Sunday, August 10, shared what Cain Velasquez has been helping the inmates learn during his sessions with them. “Let the past stay in the past,” the session quoted the 43-year-old as saying. “Be here. Be alive. Be aware that you can do more.”

Whether he’s talking about the discipline of breathwork or the mental fortitude required to survive incarceration, his words carry the weight of previous mistakes and a commitment to transform them into hard-earned lessons. With nearly three years of time served, including eight months in jail and almost two years on house arrest, Cain Velasquez will be eligible for parole in March 2026.

Until then, Sundays with Cain continues to convey his voice to the world, providing a glimpse into the thoughts of a fighter who refuses to let prison bars define him. Perhaps it was this dedication to personal development and discipline that inspired UFC CEO Dana White to actively advocate for Velasquez’s release from prison, even helping him out with his bail.

Cain Velasquez reveals Dana White paid his $1M bail amount

Cain Velasquez’s appreciation for Dana White became abundantly clear when he acknowledged the UFC CEO’s part in securing his release. After eight months in jail and repeated bail denials, Judge Arthur Bocanegra finally set it at $1 million in November 2022, which White secretly covered. He never addressed it publicly, allowing the act to speak for itself.

“I don’t know if he gave out a statement or something beforehand when I was locked up, and also, he did pay my bail as well,” the UFC legend revealed on the Basement Talk. Facing charges like premeditated attempted murder, his bail prospects were slim. So, that $1 million bond paid by the head honcho marked the first step toward seeing his family again.

Once out, Velasquez spent months under house arrest before his March hearing, where he was sentenced to five years in prison, which is significantly less than the 30 years to life sought by prosecutors. Still, that moment in November 2022, when White stepped up without hesitation, is one of the defining moments of his fight outside of the Octagon.