UFC icon Cain Velasquez joins Global Fight League as team manager, brings Islam Makhachev's trainer onboard as head coach

Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has joined the Global Fight League (GFL) as a team manager. The MMA great has also brought in reigning UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev's head coach Javier Mendez as his team's head coach.

Mendez was Velasquez's head coach during his career. The GFL's press release indicated Velasquez won't fight but announced his managerial role. The GFL is a new MMA organization, the founding of which made waves in 2024.

As reported by MMA Junkie, the GFL would operate with a team format, comprising league matches from members of six teams, taking place around the world. It will lead to a playoff stage, followed by a championship card. The teams will comprise both male and female fighters.

The GFL's first draft is expected to be held on Jan. 24, 2025. The GFL's first season is set to commence in April 2025. Incidentally, Jan. 24, 2025, is the same date when Cain Velasquez is expected to face his court sentencing related to his alleged shootout incident from 2022.

Velasquez was allegedly involved in a high-speed car chase, pursuing and then shooting at a vehicle carrying Harry Goularte Jr. and some of the latter's family. The incident saw Goularte Jr.'s stepfather suffer injuries due to the firing. There were no fatalities.

Velasquez was subsequently arrested. He spent some time behind bars and got out on bail in November 2022.

Reports highlighted that the UFC icon allegedly targeted Harry Goularte Jr., as the latter was accused of mol*sting Velasquez's then-four-year-old son at a daycare center run by the Goularte family. Goularte had been released from jail after which the alleged shootout took place.

The Velasquez family filed a civil lawsuit in 2022 - believed to be seeking action against Goularte, the Goularte family, and their businesses. In the latter half of 2024, Velasquez - who was facing the possibility of life imprisonment, owing to several charges, including attempted murder - agreed to a plea deal.

It has been speculated that the GFL draft date and the court sentencing date coinciding might affect Velasquez's ability to be present for the GFL proceedings that day.

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UFC icon Cain Velasquez's former training partner, one of AKA's iconic 'Four Kings,' to fight in the GFL

Cain Velasquez last competed in MMA back in 2019. He was knocked out by Francis Ngannou inside the octagon, which marked his final UFC appearance and MMA fight.

The former UFC heavyweight champion retired from mixed martial arts thereafter and has since dabbled in professional wrestling, in addition to also helping out with training other fighters at the American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) gym in San Jose, California, U.S.A.

Velasquez is often referred to as one of AKA's 'Four Kings' - the other three being former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, ex-UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, and ex-UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Cormier and Nurmagomedov retired from MMA in 2020 while Rockhold retired from MMA in 2022 but later hinted at returning to combat sports. The former UFC star has since competed in bare-knuckle boxing and combat karate.

Furthermore, Rockhold's GFL signing was announced in December 2024, and he's expected to return to MMA competition under the GFL banner in 2025. Several other ex-UFC stars, including Paige VanZant, have signed with and are expected to fight in the GFL.