Dominick Cruz

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Dominick Cruz
Dominick-cruz.jpg
(Dominick Cruz after retaining his WEC Bantamweight Championship at WEC 50)
Born Dominick Rojelio Cruz
(1985-03-09) March 9, 1985 (age 28)
Tucson, Arizona, USA
Other names The Dominator
Residence Chula Vista, California[1]
Nationality Mexican American
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st)
Division Bantamweight (2008–present)
Featherweight (2006–2008)
Lightweight (2005–2006)
Reach 68.0 in (173 cm)
Style Wrestling, Boxing, BJJ
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Chula Vista, California[1]
Team Alliance MMA
Rank      Blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active 2005–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 20
Wins 19
By knockout 6
By submission 1
By decision 12
Losses 1
By submission 1
Other information
Website http://www.dominickcruz.com
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: October 11, 2011

Dominick Rojelio Cruz [2] (born September 3, 1985) is a Mexican American mixed martial artist who competes as a Bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion, as well as a former WEC Bantamweight Champion Cruz is known for his outstanding speed and footwork. Cruz was previously ranked the #1 bantamweight fighter in the world by Sherdog,[3][4] but is not currently ranked due to inactivity.

Contents

Mixed martial arts career[edit]

Cruz began his professional MMA career fighting in the Rage in a Cage and Total Combat organizations.

World Extreme Cagefighting[edit]

His first fight in the WEC was at featherweight in a title fight against Urijah Faber in which he lost by guillotine choke in the first round. He would then make his debut for WEC's 135 lb Bantamweight division at WEC 34 defeating Charlie Valencia by unanimous decision and would go on to show domination of the 135 lb Bantamweight division beating the likes of Ian McCall, Ivan Lopez and handing top contender Joseph Benavidez his first loss at WEC 42 winning all bouts by unanimous decision and winning fight of the night honors in his bout versus Benavidez.

Cruz defeated Brian Bowles via TKO (doctor stoppage) on March 6, 2010 at WEC 47. Bowles was unable to continue after the second round after breaking his hand. Cruz became the new WEC Bantamweight Champion.[5]

Cruz made his first title defense against Joseph Benavidez on August 18, 2010 at WEC 50.[6] The bout was a rematch of their contest at WEC 42, in which Cruz handed Benavidez his first career loss, via decision. Cruz defeated Benavidez again via split decision.

Cruz faced Scott Jorgensen on on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53 for both the WEC Bantamweight Championship and the newly created UFC Bantamweight Championship.[7] This bout would be the final Bantamweight Championship fight under the WEC banner and would also crown the inaugural UFC Bantamweight champion, making this the only UFC title fight to take place outside of the UFC.[8] Cruz defeated Jorgensen via unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 50–45), to retain the WEC Bantamweight Championship and become the first UFC Bantamweight Champion.[9]

Ultimate Fighting Championship[edit]

On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.[10]

A rematch with Urijah Faber took place on July 2, 2011 at UFC 132 being the first defense of the new UFC Bantamweight title.[11] In a closely contested fight which saw Faber drop Cruz multiple times with strikes and Cruz landing multiple leg\body kicks, knees and takedowns, Cruz defeated Faber via unanimous decision to retain his championship and avenge the only loss on his record.[12][13]

Cruz defeated Demetrious Johnson via unanimous decision on October 1, 2011 at UFC on Versus 6, his second UFC title defense. Cruz was expected to face Urijah Faber for a third time for the UFC bantamweight championship after Faber defeated Brian Bowles at UFC 139 in a bantamweight title eliminator bout.[14]

In December 2011, Cruz was selected to coach the The Ultimate Fighter: Live against opposing coach Urijah Faber.[15] The rubber match between Cruz and Faber was expected to take place on July 7, 2012 at UFC 148.[16] However, on May 7, 2012, Cruz was forced to pull out of the bout citing a torn ACL.[17]

On December 3, 2012 it was revealed that Cruz underwent another ACL surgery after his body rejected one from a cadaver, with an expected recovery time of six to nine months.[18]

Personal life[edit]

Cruz's father is of Mexican descent. He lived with his mother and brother in Tucson. He worked as a customer service representative and was studying to be a firefighter at a community college before becoming a full-time fighter.[19]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

Mixed Martial Arts[edit]

Best Fighter In The Bantamweight Roster

Mixed martial arts record[edit]

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 19–1 Demetrious Johnson Decision (unanimous) UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson 02011-10-01October 1, 2011 5 5:00 Washington D.C., United States Defended the UFC Bantamweight Championship.
Win 18–1 Urijah Faber Decision (unanimous) UFC 132 02011-07-02July 2, 2011 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States UFC Debut. Defended the UFC Bantamweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
Win 17–1 Scott Jorgensen Decision (unanimous) WEC 53 02010-12-16December 16, 2010 5 5:00 Glendale, Arizona, United States Defended the WEC Bantamweight Championship. Promoted to UFC Bantamweight Champion.
Win 16–1 Joseph Benavidez Decision (split) WEC 50 02010-08-18August 18, 2010 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Defended the WEC Bantamweight Championship.
Win 15–1 Brian Bowles TKO (doctor stoppage) WEC 47 02010-03-06March 6, 2010 2 5:00 Columbus, Ohio, United States Won the WEC Bantamweight Championship.
Win 14–1 Joseph Benavidez Decision (unanimous) WEC 42 02009-08-09August 9, 2009 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 13–1 Iván López Technical Decision (unanimous) WEC 40 02009-04-05April 5, 2009 3 3:24 Chicago, Illinois, United States Technical decision due to an unintentional knee on the ground by Cruz.
Win 12–1 Ian McCall Decision (unanimous) WEC 38 02009-01-25January 25, 2009 3 5:00 San Diego, California, United States
Win 11–1 Charlie Valencia Decision (unanimous) WEC 34 02008-06-01June 1, 2008 3 5:00 Sacramento, California, United States Bantamweight Debut.
Win 10–1 Kenneth Aimes TKO (punches) TC 27 02008-03-22March 22, 2008 1 N/A Yuma, Arizona, United States
Loss 9–1 Urijah Faber Submission (guillotine choke) WEC 26 02007-03-24March 24, 2007 1 1:38 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States For the WEC Featherweight Championship.
Win 9–0 Shad Smith Decision (unanimous) TC 18 02006-11-04November 4, 2006 3 5:00 San Diego, California, United States Featherweight Debut. Won the vacant Total Combat Featherweight Championship.
Win 8–0 Juan Miranda Submission (rear naked choke) TC 16 02006-09-09September 9, 2006 1 4:00 San Diego, California, United States Won the vacant Total Combat Lightweight Championship.
Win 7–0 Dave Hisquierdo Decision (split) TC 15 02006-07-15July 15, 2006 3 5:00 San Diego, California, United States
Win 6–0 Michael Barney TKO (punches) RITC 79 02006-02-24February 24, 2006 1 2:45 Tucson, Arizona, United States
Win 5–0 Nick Hedrick Decision (unanimous) RITC 75: Friday Night Fights 02005-09-30September 30, 2005 3 3:00 Glendale, Arizona, United States
Win 4–0 Josh Donahue TKO (punches) RITC 74: In Your Face 02005-09-10September 10, 2005 2 1:09 Casa Grande, Arizona, United States
Win 3–0 Tom Schwager TKO (punches) RITC 73: Arizona vs. Nevada 02005-08-06August 6, 2005 1 0:56 Glendale, Arizona, United States
Win 2–0 Rosco McClellan TKO (punches) RITC 70 02005-06-11June 11, 2005 2 1:26 Glendale, Arizona, United States
Win 1–0 Eddie Castro Decision (split) RITC 67: Back to the Dodge 02005-01-29January 29, 2005 3 3:00 Phoenix, Arizona, United States

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b [1][dead link]
  2. ^ MIXED MARTIAL ARTS SHOW RESULTS. State of Nevada. July 2, 2011
  3. ^ "Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". Sherdog.com. August 22, 2012. 
  4. ^ "Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". Sherdog.com. August 22, 2012. 
  5. ^ "Brian Bowles defends bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at WEC 47 on March 6". mmajunkie.com. 2009-12-11. 
  6. ^ "Cruz vs Benavidez For The Title In August". MMAweekly.com. 2010-06-08. 
  7. ^ "WEC 53 title doubleheader features Henderson vs. Pettis, Cruz vs. Jorgensen". mmajunkie.com. 2010-09-27. 
  8. ^ "WEC 53: Dominick Cruz, Scott Jorgensen Fight To Be First UFC Bantamweight Champion". sbnation.com. December 14, 2010. 
  9. ^ WEC 53 play by play and live results. MMAjunkie.com. December 16, 2010
  10. ^ "UFC and WEC set to merge in 2011; events to air on Versus and Spike TV". mmajunkie.com. October 28, 2010. 
  11. ^ "Champ Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber II booked for UFC 132". mmajunkie.com. 2011-03-26. 
  12. ^ "UFC 132 Play-by-Play: Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber". MMAweekly.com. 2011-06-30. 
  13. ^ Iole, Kevin. (2012-02-26) UFC 132: Cruz claims rematch over Faber – UFC – Yahoo! Sports. Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved on 2012-03-03.
  14. ^ Cofield, Steve (October 1, 2011). "Cruz digs deep to retain his 135-pound title at UFC on Versus 6". Yahoo!. Retrieved October 2, 2011. 
  15. ^ "Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber Selected as Coaches of Next Ultimate Fighter Season". mmafighting.com. December 6, 2011. 
  16. ^ "Champ Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber III targeted for UFC 148 in Las Vegas". mmajunkie.com. February 10, 2012. 
  17. ^ Martin, Damon (May 7, 2012). "Dominick Cruz Injured, Out of UFC 148". mmaweekly.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012. 
  18. ^ "UFC Champ Dominick Cruz's Return Pushed Back By Second ACL Surgery". mmajunkie.com. 2012-12-03. 
  19. ^ Dominick Cruz – Official UFC® Fighter Profile. Ufc.com (2012-02-27). Retrieved on 2012-03-03.

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Brian Bowles		 5th WEC Bantamweight Champion
March 6, 2010 – December 16, 2010		 Incumbent
Vacant
Title last held by
First Champion		 1st UFC Bantamweight Champion
December 16, 2010 – Present		 Current holder
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dominick_Cruz&oldid=559326718"