Dominick Cruz Biography

Dominick Cruz is a professional mixed martial artist from the USA. He is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is considered one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. In addition, he is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion and was also the final bantamweight titleholder of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). He is known as one of the most agile fighters in MMA and he is noted for his quick footwork, head movement, and use of feints. He often attacks with combinations, step-in jabs, and single strikes thrown from all angles. He is nicknamed The Dominator. On January 29, 2005, he made his MMA debut in Rage in the Cage 67 event in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, against Eddie Castro winning the match in a Decision (split) 1–0. Regarding his mixed martial arts record, he has fought for 28 matches out of which he won 24 matches and lost 4. As of May 2, 2022, he is #8 in the UFC bantamweight rankings. 

Dominick Cruz Lost To Marlon Vera Held In San Diego

Marlon Vera knocked out bantamweight legend Dominick Cruz. He is also the first fighter to knock Cruz out cold, which he did in the fourth round with a nasty head kick right to the face of the former UFC and WEC bantamweight champion. This marks a career high point for Vera, who entered Saturday’s main event as the No. 7 bantamweight in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings. He has now won four straight fights and seems poised to challenge for UFC gold in the near future. 

What is Dominick Cruz Famous For?

• For being an American professional mixed martial artist, who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
• For his excellent run in the UFC /WEC Bantamweight history, standing unbeaten at 135 pounds till his 13th match.
• Being the first MMA fighter to win the UFC Bantamweight Champion title in 2010. 
• For defending the UFC Bantamweight Champion title twice in 2011, as well as for regaining the title in January 2016 in a comeback match, after having recovered from a prolonged injury, against T.J. Dillashaw. 

What is Dominick Cruz’s Real Name?

Dominick Cruz took birth with the real name of Dominick Rojelio Cruz on 3rd September 1985. He is from San Diego, California, United States. He holds American nationality and his ethnicity is Mixed (American-Mexican). His present age is 37 as of 2022. He lived with his single mother, grandmother, and brother in a trailer park in Tucson for most of his childhood. He faced his father’s drug addiction from his very early days and saw his mother suffer a lot of financial troubles to raise her kids properly. His father was absent for most of his childhood, after separating from his mother and he was raised by two women, for the most part, his grandmother and mother. He is very close to his mother. He started wrestling in seventh grade and competed all through high school out of Flowing Wells High School. Due to injury, he lost the opportunity of receiving a scholarship to wrestle at the University of Northern Colorado. He worked as a customer service representative at Lowe’s and was studying to be a firefighter at community college before becoming a full-time fighter. 

Dominick Cruz Career Timeline

• Dominick Cruz began his professional mixed martial arts (MMA) career in 2005. 
• He amassed a record of 9–0 before joining World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). 
• His first fight in the WEC was at featherweight at WEC 26 in a title fight against Urijah Faber in which he lost. 
• Then, he make his debut for the WEC’s 135 lb bantamweight division on June 7, 2008, at WEC 34 defeating Charlie Valencia by unanimous decision.
• He went on to take decision victories against Ian McCall on January 25, 2009, at WEC 38 and on April 5, 2009, Ivan Lopez at WEC 40.
• He defeated Joseph Benavidez on August 9, 2009, at WEC 42 by unanimous decision. 
• The bout against Brian Bowles took place at WEC 47 on March 6, 2010. He won the bout via TKO after Bowles was unable to continue after the second round after breaking his hand. After winning the fight, he became the new WEC Bantamweight Champion. 
• He made his first title defense against Joseph Benavidez on August 18, 2010, at WEC 50. He handed Benavidez his first career loss, via decision.
• Later, Cruz defeated Benavidez again via split decision and retained his title.
• Next, he faced Scott Jorgensen on December 14, 2010, at WEC 53 for both the WEC Bantamweight Championship and the newly created UFC Bantamweight Championship.
• He defeated Jorgensen via unanimous decision to retain the WEC Bantamweight Championship and become the first UFC Bantamweight Champion. 
• On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) due to which all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.
• Dominick then faced Urijah Faber on 2nd July 2011, the man who had defeated Dominick in his career’s first pro fight. He defeated Faber via a unanimous decision to retain his championship and avenge the only loss on his record at that time. 
• After that, he defeated Demetrious Johnson via unanimous decision on October 1, 2011, at UFC on Versus 6, his second UFC title defense. 
• On 3rd December 2012, it was revealed that Cruz underwent another ACL surgery after his body rejected one from a cadaver, with an expected recovery time of six to nine months.
• On a January 6, 2013 episode of SportsCenter, UFC president Dana White announced that Dominick Cruz had torn his groin and vacated the UFC Bantamweight Championship; White promoted Barão to undisputed UFC Bantamweight Champion, and announced that Barão’s first unified title defense would be against Urijah Faber at UFC 169. 
• After nearly three years from the sport due to injuries, Cruz returned to the octagon on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178 where he faced Takeya Mizugaki, winning by KO. 
• On December 22, 2014, he indicated that he had torn the ACL in his other knee, which sidelined him through 2015. 
• He faced T.J. Dillashaw on January 17, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 81.
• He defended his title against Urijah Faber on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
• He faced Cody Garbrandt on December 30, 2016, at UFC 207 which he lost. 
• After more than a 3 year-layoff, he faced Henry Cejudo for the UFC Bantamweight Championship on May 9, 2020, at UFC 249 which he lost via TKO in the second round. 
• He faced and won against Casey Kenney on March 6, 2021, at UFC 259 via split decision. 
• He faced Pedro Munhoz on December 11, 2021, at UFC 269 which he won. 
• He faced Marlon Vera on August 13, 2022, at UFC on ESPN 41 which he lost via KO (head kick) with the record 24-4 in the fourth round in San Diego, California, United States. 

Awards and Achievements

Ultimate Fighting Championship

UFC Bantamweight Championship (Two times, first)

• Three successful title defenses (two during the first reign, one during the second reign)

Fight of the Night (Four times) vs. Urijah Faber, T.J. Dillashaw, Cody Garbrandt, and Pedro Munhoz.

• Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Takeya Mizugaki 
• Most wins in UFC/WEC Bantamweight History (14)
• Tied with T.J. Dillashaw for the most consecutive Bantamweight title defenses in UFC history. – (2)

World Extreme Cagefighting

WEC Bantamweight Championship (One time, final)

• Two successful title defenses

Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Joseph Benavidez 

Total Combat

• Total Combat Lightweight Championship
• Total Combat Featherweight Championship

USA Today

• 2010 Fighter of the Year

World MMA Awards

• 2014 Comeback Fighter of the Year
• 2015 Analyst of the Year 
• 2016 Analyst of the Year 
• 2017 Analyst of the Year 

Who is Dominick Cruz Girlfriend?

Dominick is a secretive man when it comes to his personal life but sources claim that he was in a long-term relationship with Kenda Perez. However, the relationship was not confirmed. He was again rumored to have dated model Amanda Nicole, although nothing was confirmed. He is enjoying his present life a lot as well as he is focusing on his career. His sexual orientaiton is straight and he is not gay. 

How much is Dominick Cruz’s Net Worth?

Dominick Cruz is a Mixed Martial Artist (MMA) whose net worht is estimated to have $3 Million as of 2022. He has made most of his net worth from his MMA career and UFC analyst job. Till 2022, Dominick Cruz has career earnings of $2,263,000. He is one of the nicely paid UFC athletes with an average salary of $350,000, He also earns other perks like performance bonuses and sponsorship. He has either promoted or endorsed brands like Louis Vuitton, Memphis Car Audio, Specialized Costa Mesa, Monster Energy, FS1, TOYO TIRES, Polaris RZR, Premium Auto Styling, Hayabusa Combat, and more. His highest payout was when he fought Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207, He was paid $440,000 in total, including his base salary of $350,000, Fight of the Night bonus of $50,000, and Reebok sponsorship of $40,000. He is living a lavish lifestyle at present. 

How tall is Dominick Cruz?

Dominick Cruz is a handsome man with a standing height of 5 ft 8 in. His body weight is 61 KG. His hair color is black and his eye color is dark brown. His body type is athletic. His highest reach is 68 in (173 cm).