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Brett Okamoto
Dominick Cruz, one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time, announced his retirement from the sport on Thursday via social media.
Cruz, 39, was scheduled for one final appearance against Rob Font at UFC Fight Night on Feb. 22, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. The former UFC and WEC bantamweight champion retires with a professional record of 24-4. His final fight will go down as a loss to Marlon Vera in August 2022.
“I have poured every ounce of myself into this sport for the last 25 years,” Cruz wrote on Instagram. “I was really hopeful for one final fight, but unfortunately, two shoulder dislocations in eight months calls an end to this guy’s career.”
Fighting out of San Diego, Cruz will be remembered as a pioneer in MMA — particularly for the lower weight classes — as well as a brilliant tactician. He won the WEC’s 135-pound championship in 2010 and became the UFC’s first bantamweight champion when the companies were combined in 2011.
“The Dominator” was known for his trademark style of constant movement, volume striking and fight IQ. He defended the UFC title twice, against rival Urijah Faber and Demetrious Johnson, before knee and groin injuries forced him to vacate his title in 2014. He went on to reclaim it in 2016, before surrendering it in competition for the first time later that year to Cody Garbrandt.
Injuries became a major part of Cruz’s story, and his ability to reclaim the belt in 2016 became arguably his greatest achievement. He earned one final shot at UFC gold against Henry Cejudo in 2020, but came up short via TKO, in a loss he felt was stopped prematurely. He remains on the short list of candidates for greatest bantamweight of all time, along with current champion Merab Dvalishvili, Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillashaw.
Cruz has worked as an ESPN analyst and UFC color commentator for several years.