Dominick Cruz, UFC’s first bantam weight master, retiring from MMA

Dominick Cruz, one of the biggest mixed martial artists of all time, announced his retirement from the sport on Thursday via social media.

Cruz, 39, was scheduled for a final performance against Rob Font at UFC Fight Night on February 22, but was forced to retreat due to injury. The former UFC and WEC Bantamweight Champion retire with a professional record of 24-4. His last match will go down as a loss for Marlon Vera in August 2022.

“I’ve poured every ounce of myself in this sport for the past 25 years,” Cruz wrote on Instagram. “I was really hopeful for a last match, but unfortunately, two shoulder displays in eight months call an end to this guy’s career.”

Fighting out of San Diego, Cruz will be remembered as a pioneer in MMA – especially for lower weight classes – as well as a brilliant tactician. He won WEC’s championship of 135 pounds in 2010 and became UFC’s first bantam weight master when the companies were combined in 2011.

“The Dominator” was known for its trademark style with constant movement, volume striking and battle IQ. He defended the UFC title twice against rival Urijah Faber and Demetrious Johnson before knee and groin injuries forced him to leave his title in 2014. He continued to regain it in 2016 before surrendering it in competition for the first time later the same years of the same year to Cody Garbrandt.

Injuries became an important part of Cruz’s history and his ability to regain the belt in 2016 was undoubtedly his greatest performance. He earned one last shot at UFC Gold against Henry Cejudo in 2020, but came up shortly via TKO, in a loss he felt was stopped prematurely. He remains on the short list of candidates for the greatest bantamweight of all time along with current Master Merab Dvalishvili, Aljamain Sterling and TJ Dillasw.

Cruz has worked as ESPN analyst and UFC color commentator for several years.