Dominick Cruz has admitted his subsequent struggle at UFC Seattle shall be his final.
Cruz is taken into account top-of-the-line 135-pound fighters of all time, having defeated Demetrious Johnson, TJ Dillashaw and Urijah Faber throughout his illustrious 13-year spell with the UFC.
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He’s additionally a former UFC champion however is now set to retire on his twentieth anniversary as a fighter, having competed in skilled MMA since 2005.
His bout with fellow veteran Rob Font at UFC Seattle on February 23 shall be his eleventh in Dana White’s promotion.
However the former two-time UFC bantamweight champion solid little doubt when pressed by UFC Corridor of Famer Daniel Cormier that it’ll even be his final.
“For me, it’s,” Cruz, 39, stated on ESPN MMA. “Not due to my mentality, not due to my skillset.
“Yeah, I misplaced my final struggle, however I used to be in that struggle each minute of the struggle. After I obtained completed, I used to be going for the kill, which obtained me harm.
“It wasn’t a type of conditions the place I used to be bowing out of the struggle.
“It was: I used to be within the struggle making an attempt to kill the man and I harm myself, and that led to the end finally.”
Cruz hasn’t fought within the UFC since August 2022, when he suffered a devastating knockout loss to Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera.
The California native went into the bout on a two-fight win streak, which adopted consecutive title struggle defeats to Cody Garbrandt and finally Henry Cejudo, who initially retired after knocking Cruz out.
Cejudo has since returned to the UFC and is hoping to avenge his final two defeats in his UFC Seattle most important occasion towards Music Yadong.
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Cruz had already reached the summit of the UFC’s bantamweight division previous to his first-ever UFC defeats.
Many MMA followers additionally argue that he may very well be one of many best UFC fighters of all time, had he not been struck by accidents on so many events.
“So, I have a look at that struggle [vs Vera]. I’m going: ‘OK, don’t be too harsh on your self.,” Cruz added.
“That is a part of the sport. You get hit. You get caught. These items occur.
“However I used to be within the struggle. I wasn’t slower. I wasn’t trying behind a step. I wasn’t not selecting the nice strategies.
“These are all issues I add to my mindset earlier than shifting into this final 9 months as effectively.
“The abilities are nonetheless there. It’s only a matter of all of the accidents and stuff. Can I hold them collectively to get by the camp?
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“The camp is the exhausting half. Everyone knows that. It’s not likely the struggle.”
“If I needed to struggle in a single week, I’d get there wholesome. However my physique won’t be as prepared because it must be.
“However I obtained a six week camp to organize myself and I’ve accomplished a 9 month chunk of time to ensure my physique can deal with that.”
After rising as a champion below the WEC banner, Cruz first gained bantamweight gold on his UFC debut from Faber in 2011.
He proceeded to defend the belt towards Johnson earlier than a sequence of accidents, together with a torn ACL and groin, saved him out of motion for 3 years.
Cruz returned in 2014, defeating Takeya Mizugaki within the first-round at UFC 178, earlier than claiming the bantamweight title once more two years later towards Dillashaw after tearing the ACL in his different knee.
The 39-year-old defended the 135lb strap towards Faber once more in what can be his final victory in a UFC title struggle as he went on to lose towards Garbrandt and Cejudo, 4 years later, following extra accidents.
Cruz’s opponent Font, 37, has been within the UFC for the same time frame.
He made his debut in 2014 and has additionally fought among the UFC’s largest stars, together with Jose Aldo and Deiveson Figueiredo.
Font was victorious in his final bout towards Kyler Phillips in October, successful by way of unanimous choice after three rounds.