Dominick Cruz‘s downfall was torturous to watch. In a brutal sport like MMA, there have been other painful downfalls, like, say, fan favorites like Anderson Silva or Tony Ferguson. But those didn’t give you the same sinking feeling in your gut as watching ‘The Dominator’ lose his career through no fault of his own. After all, the reason the latter two’s career went downhill was just time– they were just past their primes and no longer the fighters they once were.

But that wasn’t what happened to Cruz. ‘The Dominator’s career ended due to being one of the unluckiest fighters in the history of the sport, who lost almost a decade of his fighting career, much of it in his prime, due to injuries. The American started his pro MMA career in 2005, when the MMA landscape was very different. The sport was still a niche sport that was seen as a savage bloodsport by many, and was still banned in many jurisdictions. From the beginning, the San Diego native was a prodigy and went undefeated in his first nine fights until he lost via a first round to his future rival Urijah Faber at the now-defunct WEC in 2007.

This was followed by another golden run, which saw him win the WEC title and after that promotion was absorbed into the UFC in 2011, he became the UFC’s bantamweight champ. In the UFC, he would rematch Faber, and managed to beat him this time. After that, then-135 pound UFC champ beat GOAT contender Demetrious Johnson, who moved up to bantamweight. But soon after that late 2011 clash, Cruz suffered a torn ACL and a groin injury that kept him out of action until 2014. And this would become something of a pattern in his career. And is the reason he retired in February 2025, before being removed from the UFC roster in May 2025.

The American made a victorious came back in 2014, only to injure himself again, which forced him to be out for two years. In his first fight back in 2016 he would win the title in a grudge match with former teammate and friend-turned-foe TJ Dillashaw. Cruz went on to defend his title twice the same year, losing it to Cody Garbrandt in a historic upset to the underdog in late 2016. Guess what happened next?

Yes, you guessed right, he got injured again, and was out for another four years. He came back in 2020 yet again, and fought four times until 2022, losing to Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera in August 2022. Although Cruz or the fans didn’t know it, that would be his last ever fight. The former champ didn’t fight after that, although he wanted to, and officially announced his retirement in February 2025 for reasons we will see shortly. And now, with the UFC commentator being firm on his retirement, Dana White and co. have officially cut him from their roster. But there is another reason we know he is done for good.

Why we can be sure Dominick Cruz has retired for good

“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 eight months calls an end to this guy’s career,” Cruz told fans in his retirement message earlier this year.

The former champ had hoped to have a retirement fight in early 2025, but alas, he dislocated his shoulder– the second time in eight months– which prompted him to finally call it quits. The former bantamweight champ had said in April 2024 that he wanted to come back and have a rematch with either Henry Cejudo or Marlon Vera, both of whom have beaten him previously.

Alas, fate had different plans. Two injuries in eight months is perhaps the universe’s way of telling you something– you should retire. And that is what Cruz did earlier this year. He did get a retirement package from the UFC on a Fight Night Card in March, which included his achievements and contributions to the sport.

Now, with his removal from the UFC roster, the last nail has been driven in the nail of Dominick Cruz’s MMA career. Of course, ‘The Dominator’ will continue his job as a UFC commentator, where he will continue to delight fans with his sharp wit and sardonic sense of humor. What do you think about Dominick Cruz being removed from the UFC roster?