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Dominick Cruz explains why he didn’t retire on top after pulling off all-time UFC comeback

Originally posted on Bloody Elbow
By Christopher De Santiago | Last updated Sep 14, 2025 11:13 PM ET

Dominick Cruz asked himself why he didn’t walk away when he was still UFC champ.

The former UFC and WEC champion is up there with current titleholder Merab Dvalishvili and Aljamain Sterling as one of the greatest fighters in UFC bantamweight history.

Cruz probably would have had a better argument for the 135 lb ‘GOAT’ conversation if had he retired from the sport before it retired him earlier this year.

As you may recall, Cruz suffered a career-ending injury that took him out of his retirement fight against Rob Font at UFC Seattle.

Injuries were a common theme of Cruz’s career, but Cruz made it past two ACL tears (among other injuries) and long layoffs to complete one of the greatest comebacks in sports in 2016 when he reclaimed his title from then champion TJ Dillashaw.

His legacy cemented that night, Cruz explained his decision to keep going after that.

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Dominick Cruz says he could’ve retired after beating TJ Dillashaw

Cruz took some brutal losses after he lost the title to Cody Garbrandt later that year in 2016.

Following a four-year layoff, Cruz was TKO’d by then champion Henry Cejudo in 2020 and three fights later, he was knocked out with a head kick from Chito Vera in what would be his final fight in 2022.

If Cruz retired after Dillashaw, or even after his trilogy with Urijah Faber, Cruz could have left with a near-perfect record of 21-1 or 22-1.

“I could have retired in [2016] after winning the title from TJ,” Cruz said on Demetrious Johnson’s YouTube channel.

“Walked away. Done. And that would have been perfectly okay,” Cruz said of retirement.

“Why didn’t I?” Cruz continued.

“The question, I’ll tell you, because the challenge wasn’t over to keep transforming, to keep learning until I get these losses, and I did…

“Now what can I learn from these losses? Then, I learned more from that than I did any [of my wins],” said Cruz.

Dominick Cruz still works as a UFC commentator

While he might be retired from fighting, you can still find Cruz somewhere around the Octagon.

Cruz has been a UFC commentator for almost a decade now, calling fights from the broadcast booth alongside Joe Rogan, Jon Anik, Daniel Cormier, and several others.

Over the weekend at Noche UFC, Cruz accidentally confused the debuting Alice Pereira for former champ Alex Pereira’s sister, Aline Pereira.

Cruz wants his former foe Demetrious Johnson to try his hand at commentary, however, ‘Mighty Mouse’ is doubtful about making the crossover.

This article first appeared on Bloody Elbow and was syndicated with permission.

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