Former two-time UFC men’s bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is no longer ranked in the Top 15.
Cruz was replaced in the rankings released on November 5 by one of the big winners from UFC Edmonton, Aiemann Zahabi, who debuted at No. 14 following his unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz.
Cruz has not fought since losing to Marlon Vera via KO in August 2022. Many would argue Cruz’s exit from the Top 15 should have occurred at least six months ago when his inactivity hit 18 months.
Cruz has explored fights with fellow legend Jose Aldo in recent months, but nothing materialized. Aldo has been active since coming out of retirement. He even earned a new deal with the UFC despite being 38 years old.
Over the past two years, Cruz has established himself as a lead analyst for UFC events, often working UFC Fight Nights and some pay-per-view shows. Cruz will be 40 years old in March, so his days as a serious title contender are likely over.
Based on his level of inactivity and age, we may be approaching the end of his career and could perhaps see him participate in a retirement fight.
Cruz was the UFC’s first official bantamweight champion during his career. When the promotion bought out World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) and absorbed its roster, it inherited a very talented group of fighters who would largely shape the UFC in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Donald Cerrone, Anthony Pettis, Aldo, Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Benson Henderson, Brian Bowles, Leonard Garcia, Carlos Condit, Chael Sonnen and Cruz.
When the merger happened, Cruz was the WEC bantamweight champion, so he became the UFC’s inaugural title holder.
Cruz immediately solidified his title distinction by earning a victory over his bitter rival, Faber, in the first defense of the title during a UFC event. The win for Cruz avenged the only loss of his career at that point, a submission defeat to Faber in 2007.
Cruz would defend the UFC title again by defeating Demetrious Johnson in October 2011. Injuries began to derail Cruz’s career after that fight. Knee injuries kept him out of action until Sept. 2014, when Cruz returned with a resounding first-round TKO win over Takeya Mizugaki.
Despite another 15-month layoff, Cruz got a title shot against TJ Dillashaw and became a two-time champion as he bested another rival via split decision. Cruz would defeat Faber again to win their career series, defending the title in the process before losing his title via unanimous decision to Cody Garbrandt in December 2016.
Injuries kept Cruz out another 3.5 years before he returned and received another shot at the bantamweight title. Then-champion Henry Cejudo stopped Cruz in the second round in May 2020. In 2021, Cruz put together a two-fight win streak with victories over Casey Kenney and Munhoz, but Vera’s stoppage win over him in 2022 marked the last time we’ve seen Cruz in the Octagon.
Despite the injuries, Cruz has faced a who’s who in his weight region, having fought nearly every fighter who has held the bantamweight title from 2009 to 2020. His current MMA record is an impressive 24-4. When he’s done fighting, there will be a spot in the Hall of Fame for Cruz.
