Dominick Cruz

Dominick Rogelio Cruz (born March 9, 1985) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, sports analyst and color commentator. He competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he was the inaugural and two-time Bantamweight Champion. Cruz has also competed for World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), and was the final WEC Bantamweight Champion. He is considered to be one of the greatest bantamweight fighters of all time.

Cruz is noted for his unorthodox movement, powerful wrestling base, quick striking, and his tendency to attack from angles in a fashion unlike any other fighter on the UFC roster. He won the WEC bantamweight title in March 2010, and won the inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship the following December. After defending the belt twice in 2011, Cruz was sidelined by injuries in 2012 and subsequently stripped of the title in 2014. On January 17, 2016, he regained the bantamweight championship with a split-decision win over T.J. Dillashaw. Numerous media outlets called this victory the greatest comeback story in MMA history.

According to Fight Matrix, Cruz is ranked as the greatest bantamweight of all time, having recorded five lineal title defenses across two championship reigns. In 2026, he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.

Early life

Cruz was born in San Diego, California, and is of Mexican descent. He lived with his single mother, grandmother, and brother in a trailer park in Tucson for most of his childhood. He started wrestling in seventh grade and competed all through high school out of Flowing Wells High School. After an injury that came in his senior year, he lost the opportunity of receiving a scholarship to wrestle at the University of Northern Colorado. Cruz 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.