Dominick Cruz: the footwork, the comeback and two UFC title reigns | Ultimate Fighter Reunion

Why fans still care

DOMINICK CRUZ was the first UFC bantamweight champion. He fought with constant stance switches, angles and feints, so opponents rarely got a clean shot. Injuries kept him out for most of three years, and he came back to win the title again.

Early life

He was born in San Diego and grew up in Tucson, Arizona. He started wrestling in seventh grade and wrestled at Flowing Wells High School. An injury in his senior year cost him a college wrestling scholarship. At 19 he took night classes towards becoming a firefighter, and worked part-time jobs, cleaning a gym, delivering paint and coaching a kids’ wrestling team, that left him time to train. Then he chose fighting.

Getting started

His professional debut came on 29 January 2005, a split decision over Eddie Castro. He won his first nine fights in Arizona and San Diego promotions. His first loss came in 2007, when Urijah Faber submitted him in a WEC featherweight title fight.

Career chapters

1. 2005Professional debut
2. 2007First loss, to Urijah Faber
3. 2008Drops to bantamweight
4. 2010Wins the WEC title, then becomes the first UFC bantamweight champion
5. 2011Defends against Faber and Demetrious Johnson, Who’s Who number 34
6. 2014Vacates the title through injury, then returns with a 61-second knockout
7. 2016Regains the title from T.J. Dillashaw, then loses it to Cody Garbrandt
8. 2020Fights Henry Cejudo, Who’s Who number 18 for the title
9. 2022Last fight, against Marlon Vera, Who’s Who number 10
10. 2025Retires
11. 2026UFC Hall of Fame

WEC champion 2008 to 2010

He moved down to bantamweight in June 2008 and beat Ian McCall, Iván López and Joseph Benavidez. On 6 March 2010 he won the WEC bantamweight title from Brian Bowles when the doctor stopped the fight after the second round. He defended it against Benavidez and Scott Jorgensen.

First UFC reign 2010 to 2014

The Jorgensen fight at WEC 53, on 16 December 2010, made him the first UFC bantamweight champion. The UFC says it’s the only UFC title fight ever held at a non-UFC event. He beat Faber on a unanimous decision at UFC 132 in July 2011, then Demetrious Johnson, Who’s Who number 34 at UFC Live 6 that October. Injuries then kept him out, and in January 2014 he gave up the title without having fought since 2011.

The comeback 2014 to 2016

He returned at UFC 178 in September 2014 and knocked out Takeya Mizugaki in 61 seconds. On 17 January 2016 in Boston he beat T.J. Dillashaw on a split decision to become champion again, more than four years after his previous title fight. “It just felt good to have the belt and know that I belong here,” he said. He beat Faber again at UFC 199 that June.

Later years 2016 to 2022

On 30 December 2016 at UFC 207 he lost the title to Cody Garbrandt on a unanimous decision, ending a 13-fight win streak. After about three years out with injuries he fought Henry Cejudo, Who’s Who number 18 for the title at UFC 249 in May 2020 and was stopped late in the second round. He then beat Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz. His last fight came in his home town of San Diego in August 2022, when Marlon Vera, Who’s Who number 10 knocked him out with a head kick in the fourth round.

Retirement and since 2025 to now

He announced his retirement in February 2025. “But sometimes, the body just doesn’t cooperate,” he wrote. He’s a long-time UFC analyst and was named Analyst of the Year at the World MMA Awards in 2015, 2016 and 2017. In January 2026 the UFC named him to its Hall of Fame. He was inducted in Las Vegas on 9 July 2026, alongside Demetrious Johnson, Who’s Who number 34.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fights

UFC.com lists him as a wrestler, but his striking made his name. Writing for VICE in 2015, Jack Slack noted that he often left his stance entirely, which made his lead leg hard to kick. He angled off after exchanges, used classical side steps, threw long retreating hooks and pivoting uppercuts, and covered it all with dozens of feints. Cruz said he drilled “tons on footwork, tons on head movement, tons on angles” so he could hit from awkward positions. Against Dillashaw he also landed four takedowns.

Teams and gyms

His head trainer was Eric Del Fierro at Alliance MMA in San Diego. ”...100% of what I do is a product of working with Eric Del Fierro,” Cruz told Fighters Only in 2012.

Stories people still tell

1. A title fight outside the UFC.

   He became the first UFC bantamweight champion at a WEC event.

2. Sixty-one seconds.

   After almost three years away he knocked out Mizugaki inside a round.

3. Back on top.

   He regained the belt from Dillashaw in 2016, more than four years after his previous title fight.

Legacy

The UFC credits him with the longest title reign in UFC bantamweight history, 1,117 days, and the most title-fight wins in UFC and WEC bantamweight history, seven. He is in the UFC Hall of Fame.