Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for a shooting in 2022 where he chased after the man accused of molesting his son.

Velasquez was sentenced in Santa Clara County after he pled no contest to attempted murder, felony assault, and other related gun charges last August for what the district attorney’s office called a “vigilante shooting spree.” He will receive credit for time served.

In February 2022, the two-time UFC heavyweight champion fired a gun multiple times at a truck carrying three people, including 46-year-old Harry Goularte, who is facing felony child molestation charges, according to the district attorney’s office.

His defense attorney, Renee Hessling, called the result “bittersweet” as they had hoped to keep Velasquez out of prison.

“Throughout it all, Cain has shown courage and strength of character,” Hessling said in a statement. “He has taken responsibility for his actions and has been held accountable. The sentence handed down today reflects the complexities of the situation and acknowledges the man behind the headlines.”

Less than a week prior to the shooting, Goularte was arrested in connection to the sexual assault of a 4-year-old at the daycare owned by his family. He was released without bail a few days later. Officials said he was released under house arrest and was on his way to retrieve an electronic monitoring bracelet when Velasquez attacked.

Velasquez shot at Goularte’s truck in a car chase that lasted for 11 miles, the district attorney’s office said. Goularte was uninjured, but his stepfather, who was driving, was hit twice.

college basketball

Texas hired Xavier’s Sean Miller to take over the Longhorns basketball program, turning to the coach who had just knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament a few days earlier in an attempt to spark a program that struggled in its first season in the Southeastern Conference.

The announcement comes a day after Texas fired Rodney Terry, and less than a week after Miller and Xavier knocked the Longhorns out of March Madness in a First Four game. Xavier was beaten in the next round by Illinois.

UNLV is finalizing a deal to hire Josh Pastner as the school’s next men’s basketball coach, sources told ESPN. Pastner was expected to agree to a five-year deal. He was most recently the head coach at Georgia Tech for seven seasons, leading the Yellow Jackets to the ACC tournament championship and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2021. He also was ACC Coach of the Year in 2017.

Ben McCollum, who led Drake’s dominating run through the Missouri Valley Conference and a win in the NCAA Tournament in his only season with the Bulldogs, was named head coach at Iowa. McCollum takes over for Fran McCaffery. McCollum wrapped up a 31-4 season with a loss to Texas Tech in the second round of the West Regional.

Columbia hired Florida assistant Kevin Hovde as its head coach, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. Hovde was on the staff at Columbia for five seasons, two alongside current Florida coach Todd Golden.

Former Sacramento Kings star Mike Bibby will be hired as the basketball coach at Sacramento State, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. ESPN first reported the decision. Bibby won an NCAA title as a player at Arizona in 1997 and then starred in the NBA for 14 seasons. Bibby retired in 2012 and has experience coaching in high school in Arizona but has not coached above that level.

Ryan Odom was introduced as the new Virginia basketball coach. Odom is the permanent replacement for Tony Bennett, who led the program to its only national championship, in 2019.

Odom led VCU to a 28-7 mark this season, winning the Atlantic 10 championship and taking his third school to the NCAA Tournament. He had previously guided UMBC and Utah State into the March Madness field.

Grand Canyon has hired South Carolina assistant Winston Gandy to take over its women’s basketball program after Molly Miller departed for Arizona State.

nfl

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy sued his former girlfriend who accused him of attacking her, alleging the woman assaulted him and stole or destroyed more than $150,000 in cash and property. Worthy filed the lawsuit against Tia Jones in Williamson County, Texas, where the two lived and where Worthy played college football at the University of Texas.

Worthy was arrested earlier this month after Jones accused him of assaulting her, but the district attorney declined to file charges in that case after speaking to multiple witnesses.

In his lawsuit, Worthy alleges that Jones fabricated the allegations of abuse and that she became enraged after he asked her to move out of the home they were living in. He says in the lawsuit that Jones assaulted him, ripping out his hair, and destroyed his game room.

Worthy is seeking between $250,000 and $1 million.

Safety Tony Jefferson, who came out of retirement to join the Chargers last season, is back for another one with the team. Jefferson and the Chargers agreed on a new one-year contract, bolstering the team’s already solid secondary for the 2025 season. It’s expected that he’ll be a backup for safeties Derwin James Jr., Alohi Gilman and Elijah Molden for the upcoming season.

— Elliott Teaford

SOCCER

The opening match of this year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 14 will be played at SoFi Stadium, the governing body announced Monday. The draw is April 10. The tournament, which ends on July 6 in Houston, likely will be missing several top players because FIFA gave priority to the Club World Cup, which runs from June 14 through July 13.