Dominick Cruz is calling it a career.
The former UFC men’s bantamweight champion announced his retirement from MMA competition in a social-media post on Thursday. According to Cruz, the same injuries that had forced him out of what was to be his final professional fight at a UFC Fight Night event in Seattle later this month had also pushed him to hang up the gloves for good.
“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,” Cruz, 39, wrote in an Instagram post. “But sometimes, the body just doesn’t cooperate.”
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,
Cruz’s retirement ends a 20-year career in MMA, most of which he spent in the UFC. The former 135-pound champ started his pro career on the regional circuit in Arizona in 2005, quickly working his way into the WEC organization, which was then owned by the UFC’s parent company and reserved as a home for the lighter weight classes.
Cruz, who finishes with an official career record of 24-4, suffered his first professional loss in a WEC featherweight title fight against longtime champ Urijah Faber. He would later beat Faber twice in UFC bantamweight title contests after the WEC was dissolved and its roster absorbed into the UFC.
During his time as champ, Cruz was known for his unique striking style, employing rapid-fire footwork to dance around opponents while seamlessly blending his strengths as both a striker and a wrestler. Unfortunately, he also became known for his injury woes, eventually vacating the UFC bantamweight title after repeated knee and groin injuries kept him out of action for the better part of two years.
Cruz made a triumphant return to the sport in 2014 after nearly three years away, defeating Takeya Mizugaki via first-round TKO before being once again sidelined by injury. Cruz would return to reclaim the UFC bantamweight title in a split-decision win over T.J. Dillashaw in 2016, defending it once before losing it to Cody Garbrandt in only his second career loss at the time later that year.
The last decade of Cruz’s career was marred by one injury after another. As a result he competed in only four fights between 2017-22. He was slated to take on Rob Font in what was billed as Cruz’s retirement fight on Feb. 22, but repeated shoulder injuries forced him out of the bout.
While injuries may have limited his ability to perform inside the cage, they did help force him into another line of work outside of it. Cruz has become a staple on UFC broadcasts as a sometimes prickly and often opinionated color commentator and is known to a generation of fight fans primarily for his work as one of the voices of UFC broadcasts.
But for those who witnessed Cruz in his athletic prime, he’ll always be known for his indefatigable attack and mercurial fighting style, which frustrated foes across multiple weight classes for the better part of a decade.
