Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez is the latest big name to be snatched up by the fledgling Global Fight League.
But Velasquez won’t be fighting. The 42-year-old will serve as a manager in the team-based league, the GFL said Friday in a news release.
Velasquez named his longtime trainer at American Kickboxing Academy, Javier Mendez, as his team’s head coach. Mendez’s pupils include Velasquez and UFC champions like Khabib Nurmagomedov, Islam Makhachev and Daniel Cormier.
The expectation is that the GFL will start as a six-team league with events around the world. Ultimately, there will be playoffs and a championship card. The teams will be made up of both male and female fighters, and the promotion’s early back-pat is that the revenue stream will be shared equally among the fighters and promotion.
A draft is set for Jan. 24, which for Velasquez represents an interesting situation. He is scheduled for a sentencing date the same day in Santa Clara County (Calif.) court for charges including attempted murder.
Velasquez has been out on bail since November 2022. A full list of charges includes attempted murder (one count), shooting at a motor vehicle or aircraft (one count), assault with a firearm (three counts), assault with a deadly weapon (three counts), willfully discharging a firearm from a vehicle (one count) and carrying a loaded firearm with intent to commit a felony (one count).
Velasquez initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but changed his plea to no contest in August.
Velasquez was arrested nearly three years ago after he allegedly pursued and shot at a man, Harry Goularte, accused of molesting Velasquez’s then 4-year-old son at a daycare. Velasquez allegedly chased a car carrying Goularte and family members during a high-speed chase with a bullet striking Goularte’s stepfather, causing injury.
Goularte faces a felony charge of lewd acts with a minor that still is in the trial setting and motion hearing phase. There also is a coinciding civil lawsuit by the Velasquez family against Goularte, his family and their businesses.
