UFC Seattle in a few weeks was supposed to be the final fight for former bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (24-4). Cruz was supposed to take on Rob Font in the co-main event and he announced ahead of time that this would be his retirement fight. However, it wasn’t meant to be.
Cruz had talked in recent weeks about having shoulder issues ahead of this final fight. One of the reasons he said this would be his final fight was due to the shoulder issues he’d been dealing with and he wanted to fight one more time before his should got too bad. Well, his shoulder ultimately forced him out of this fight and now it’s forcing the end to his career. The former UFC champ took to X this evening and officially announced his retirement.
To the fans worldwide,
I have poured every ounce of myself into this sport for the last 25 years. I was really hopeful for one final fight but unfortunately, two shoulder dislocations in 8 months calls an end to this guy’s career.
I gave everything I had and put it into preparation and training for this fight —focusing on my cardio and my body for the past year. But sometimes, the body just doesn’t cooperate.
The pain isn’t as bad now that my shoulder is back in place, but the second dislocation was far more complicated than the first.
This sport has been everything to me—it’s helped to shape who I am.
Thank you to the UFC for building this platform and paving the way for fighters like myself and so many others. The UFC broke barriers to set the stage not just for us as fighters. Also for every mma sports organization that followed them across the bridge created throughout politics in order to allow our sport to take place LEGALLY in the United States and now the world.
I am incredibly grateful to everyone who booked tickets, hotels, and flights to support me. Thank you all for being there through every moment, every victory, and every challenge. You’ve made this journey unforgettable. Thank you for the love and support. I will carry it with me always.
With love,
Dominick Cruz via X
Dominick
UFC Legacy
In my opinion, Dominick Cruz will go down in history as one of the biggest what ifs in the history of the sport. In October 2011, Cruz successfully defended his UFC bantamweight title for a second time when he defeated Demetrious Johnson. Cruz was 19-1 at the time and considered one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. He was just 26-years-old and he seemed like he was going to reign over the sport for years.
However, that’s when the injury bug started hitting him hard. Two knee injuries kept Cruz out of action for three years after that title defense against Johnson. He had to vacate his title and he returned in 2014 against Takeya Mizugaki. Cruz blitzed him and stopped him in 61 seconds.
Additional injuries kept Cruz out of action until 2016. when he returned, he defeated TJ Dillashaw to become UFC bantamweight champion once again. He defended the title successfully against Urijah Faber later that summer. He lost the title to Cody Garbrandt in December 2016 and after that loss, he didn’t fight again until May 2020 due to injuries.
Cruz had one more run in 2021 when he defeated Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz. Those wins led him to a main event against Chito Vera that he ultimately lost by fourth round knockout. The former UFC champion hasn’t been able to fight since and he was hoping for one more comeback but it wasn’t meant to be.
After 20 fights over the course of his first seven years in MMA, Cruz was only able to fight eight times over the course of 11 years to finish his career. Had injuries not hindered him, who knows how great of a career he could’ve had.