Cain Velasquez Biography – Caín Ramírez Velásquez born July 28, 1982 is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently signed with Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He gained fame for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he competed in the heavyweight division and became a two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. In 2019, Velásquez retired from mixed martial arts and transitioned to professional. 

Cain Velasquez Biography 2026

Cain Ramírez Velásquez is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist, currently appearing for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. He is widely known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he competed in the heavyweight division and became a two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion.

Born: 28 July 1982 (age 42 years), Salinas, California, United States

Martial arts: Mixed martial arts, Boxing, Kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai

Spouse: Michelle Velasquez (m. 2011)

Height: 1.85 m

Parents: Isabel Velasquez, Efrain Velasquez

Siblings: Adela Velasquez, Efrain Velasquez, Jr

Children: 2

Privacy Alert!

Your data is exposed to the websites you visit!

Your IP Address: Loading...

Your Location: Loading...

Your Internet Provider: Loading...

The information above can be used to track you, target you for ads, and monitor what you do online.

We recommend ExpressVPN — the #1 VPN out of over 350 providers we've tested. It has military-grade encryption and privacy features that will ensure your digital security, plus — it's currently offering 48% off.

Visit Express VPN ✔

Cain Velasquez Biography 2026 Details

See More: 

Lovlina Borgohain Biography

Kellie Harrington Biography

Sky Brown Biography 

Early Life and Education

Born in Salinas, California, to Efraín and Isabel Velásquez, Cain grew up with two older siblings, Efraín Jr. and Adela, in Yuma, Arizona, in a family shaped by his father’s journey from Sonora, Mexico, as an undocumented immigrant to eventually gaining U.S. citizenship through marriage. Even as a kid, Cain was clearly wired for competition—by the time he hit Kofa High, he had a 110–10 wrestling record, snagged the 5A Arizona Championship twice, and still found time to play three years of football, captaining both teams as a linebacker.

College only amplified that drive: a single season at Iowa Central Community College earned him the NJCAA National Championship in heavyweight, and three seasons at Arizona State University saw him go 86–17 on the mat, snag two All-American honors, and place fifth and fourth nationally in 2005 and 2006, all while rubbing shoulders with future UFC fighters.

How Old is Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez was born on July 28, 1982, and time has only added layers to his legacy—he’s no longer just the relentless heavyweight who overwhelmed opponents, but a seasoned veteran whose experience shows in everything he touches. That same appreciation for evolution and detail is why modern grapplers still obsess over tools like The Imanari Roll and Modern Leg Attacks From Japan by Masakazu Imanari, a reminder that fighting, like age, isn’t about standing still—it’s about adapting, refining, and staying dangerous no matter what chapter you’re in.

Cain Velasquez Fight List

Once Cain Velasquez wrapped up his run at Arizona State, the next step felt inevitable—he walked straight into mixed martial arts, joined American Kickboxing Academy, and put himself under the guidance of Dave Camarillo, where everything started to click fast. His pro debut came in October 2006 on the Strikeforce stage, and he wasted no time announcing himself, scoring a first-round TKO that set the tone, then doing the exact same thing in Bodog Fight.

By the time he hit the UFC at UFC 83, it already felt like a formality—Brad Morris fell in round one, Jake O’Brien followed the same script at UFC Fight Night 14, and Denis Stojnic pushed Cain just far enough at Fight Night 17 to earn a second-round TKO and a Knockout of the Night bonus. The competition ramped up quickly with Cheick Kongo and Ben Rothwell, both handled without drama, leading to a showdown with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira that many thought would expose Cain’s striking. Instead, Cain flipped the narrative completely, overwhelming the legend and stopping him in the first round, grabbing another Knockout of the Night and making it painfully clear that this wasn’t hype—it was the arrival of something serious.

See More: Jordan Burroughs Biography

Education and Early Career

Cain Velasquez was already a beast at Kofa High—wrestling his way to a 110–10 record and snagging the 5A Arizona Wrestling Championship twice, while also running the football field as a linebacker and captaining both teams his senior year. After high school, he took his grind to Iowa Central Community College, where one season was enough to claim the NJCAA National Championship in heavyweight. Arizona State University came next, and over three seasons, he went 86–17 on the mat, placing fifth nationally in 2005 and fourth in 2006, all while training with future UFC fighters like Ryan Bader and C.B. Dollaway. By 2006, he walked away from ASU with a degree in interdisciplinary studies, proof that even a guy who could throw anyone around still managed to keep his head in the books.

See More: Nikhat Zareen Biography

Career

After finishing school, Velasquez threw himself into the American Kickboxing Academy and made a splash in MMA with a first-round TKO over Esse Fujarczyk in 2006. He didn’t exactly ease into the scene—next up was undefeated Jeremiah Constant, and yep, another first-round TKO. UFC 83 in 2008 had him taking down Brad Morris the same way, and the following year, Jake O’Brien met the same fate at UFC Fight Night 14. That streak earned a high-profile rematch with Brock Lesnar, though it came with a near rotator cuff disaster, reminding everyone that glory has a price.

Learning from Cain Velasquez feels less like watching an instructional and more like tapping into the mindset of someone who earned everything the hard way—whether it’s Fundamentals of Power Punching or his deep dive into chain wrestling, you can sense the grind behind every detail. That relentless physicality didn’t appear overnight; it was forged right after high school at Iowa Central Community College, where he captured the NJCAA heavyweight national title, then sharpened further during three demanding years at Arizona State University. There, surrounded by future UFC names like CB Dolloway and Ryan Bader, Cain quietly built an 86–17 record, finishing fifth in the nation in 2005 and fourth in 2006. His Finishing the Single Leg Takedown: The Art of Chain Wrestling on BJJFanatics isn’t flashy—it’s honest, pressure-tested, and rooted in real experience, the kind of knowledge that only comes from years of sweat, losses, and stubborn refusal to quit.

Personal Life

Velasquez tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend Michelle back in 2011, though they’d already started their little family a couple of years earlier with the birth of their daughter, Coral Love, in 2009, and later a son in 2018. He’s got this cool bilingual edge—fluent in English and Spanish—which has landed him spots on Telemundo and Univision, and even a cameo in Wisin & Yandel’s “Te Siento” video, plus a run on “Lopez Tonight.” Life hasn’t exactly been all lights and cameras, though; 2022 hit with a serious bump when he was accused of shooting a man in Morgan Hill, California, thankfully non-life-threatening, but it still led to him getting arrested and spending time in Santa Clara County for a separate charge.

Cain Velasquez’s later UFC run was a mix of flashes of brilliance and hard reality, the kind that reminds you how unforgiving the sport can be. At UFC 200, he looked like the old Cain for a moment, overwhelming Travis Browne and finishing him by TKO right at the end of the first round. Momentum seemed possible—until it wasn’t. A planned rematch with Fabricio Werdum at UFC 207 never happened after the Nevada State Athletic Commission ruled him medically unfit due to bone spurs in his back, a quiet but brutal reminder that the body eventually pushes back. When Cain finally returned under a new four-fight deal at the UFC’s inaugural ESPN event, the stage was massive but the outcome was harsh: a first-round knockout loss to Francis Ngannou. It wasn’t the ending fans wanted, but it felt honest—one last collision between a former king and the next terrifying force of the heavyweight division.

Cain Velasquez Family

Cain Velasquez was born in Salinas, California. His parents are Efrain and Isabel Velasquez. Efrain made the journey from Mexico as an undocumented immigrant and once in the US met Cain’s mother Isabel who was born in the US. They would later marry which allowed Cain’s father Efrain to obtain his US citizenship. Cain had two siblings, Efrain Jr. and Adela.

See More: Tom Aspinall Biography

Best VPNs for Latest Updates 2026

Rank	Provider	Overall Score	Best Deal
1		9.8 ★★★★★	save 84%	VISIT WEBSITE >
2		9.6 ★★★★★	save 83%	VISIT WEBSITE >

Cain Velasquez’s Net Worth (2026)

See More: Denise Lewis Biography

Cain Velasquez’s Net Worth Growth