2025 has been quite the legal roller coaster for these five current and former mixed martial arts athletes.
Taking a look at fighters who have dealt with their fair share of bouts with the law this year.
From a previous UFC champion attempting to exact vigilante justices, to the biggest star in the sport facing devastating assault charges, the past four months have proven to be a tumultuous year outside of the cage for some competitors. Whatever their intentions were, these five men’s’ court appearances have undoubtedly altered the course of their lives, with some suffering major damage to their respective combat sports careers.
Here are five (retired and active) mixed martial arts combatants who have encountered prominent legal issues in 2025.
Cain Velasquez
In February 2022, former UFC heavyweight kingpin Cain Velasquez was arrested after shooting at a man that had allegedly sexually abused his son. The man in question was Harry Goularte Jr., who had supposedly molested the child while at the daycare that his mother owns and operates in California. Wielding a firearm, Velasquez took after and rammed a car containing Goularte Jr., his mother and his stepfather. Opening fire on the vehicle, the previous UFC figure missed his intended target, wounding Goularte Jr.’s stepfather.
Taken into police custody shortly thereafter, Velasquez was subsequently charged with attempted first-degree murder. Appearing in legal court the very next month, he then faced further indictments such as one count of shooting at a motor vehicle, three counts of assault with a firearm and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Being denied the chance at making bail, many prominent members of the mixed martial arts community reached out to voice their support for Velasquez.
More than three years later, on March 24, 2025, Velasquez was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison and four years of supervised probation, although he will be eligible for parole in early 2026.
Conor McGregor
Known for being one of the most popular and polarizing fighters in all of sports, Conor McGregor has been no stranger to controversy throughout his time in the limelight as the undeniable face of the UFC. From tangles with the law leaving some to seek a personal injury attorney, to fist fighting famous DJs and even destroying public property just to get even with his promotional nemesis, “Notorious” has has built up a considerable reputation for legal issues. However, none of his past wrongdoings have affected his public image more than his string of sexual assault cases, with his latest being an incident involving a woman at a Mianmi Heat game in 2023.
While the case was initially dropped that same year, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida reopened it this past January. Allegedly, McGregor had attempted to sexually assault a 49-year old woman in a bathroom stall during the NBA Finals after the victim was apparently lured into the location by the Irishman’s team. For now, the case remains ongoing, but the previous mixed martial arts double champion has already failed in court against another rape incident later last year.
In 2018, the UFC phenom had supposedly beaten and sexually attacked a woman in Dublin. Six years later, the county’s High Court needed only 17 days to find McGregor guilty of all charges, forcing several major companies like the Musgrave Group, IO Interactive and Proximo Spirits (parent company to Proper No. Twelve) to drop his likeness from their products.
James Krause, Jeff Molina and Darrick Minner
On the main card of UFC Fight Night 214 in 2022, Darrick Minner faced off against Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. After landing a leg kick on his opponent, Minner appeared to have injured himself, falling back in pain as Nuerdanbieke swarmed over him to get the knockout finish in the first round.
While fighters getting hurt while throwing strikes isn’t anything new, the fight odds had strangely begun to shift in Nuerdanbieke’s favor mere hours before the contest, despite Minner being the favorite all fight week. This prompted the Nevada State Athletic Commission to immediately begin an legal investigation, leading them to conclude that Minner had knowingly fought with an undisclosed injury and did not reveal it. The commission then swiftly handed Minner and his coach, James Krause (who had always been a vocal advocate of betting on fights), indefinite suspensions from mixed martial arts.
Also suspended in the wake of the betting controversy was prominent flyweight prospect Jeff Molina. Alleged to have had “substantial involvement” in Krause’s supposed “gambling scheme,” Molina received his own suspension pending the investigation. Last month, the Nevada Athletic Commission retroactively suspended both Molina and Minner for three years, making them eligible to return to fighting November 5th and March 26th respectively.
main image credit: Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
