About Dominick Cruz
Unbelievably, when Cruz was 19 years old, his mother ejected him from the house for throwing a party. Of course, there was more to it; the celebration was just the icing on the cake. Cruz, however, will affirm that it was the “greatest thing that ever happened to me” if you inquire. In the end, it made him grow up and become a man.
a man who ultimately won the UFC Bantamweight Championship. This is Cruz’s tale.
- Date of Birth: Dominick Cruz was born on September 3, 1985, Tucson, Arizona.
- Training Camp and Fighting Organization: Cruz trains with both Alliance MMA and Team Lloyd Irvin. He fights for the UFC organization.
Early Life and Sports Background
When Cruz was five years old, his parents divorced. His mother then continued to raise him and his younger sibling in Tucson.
Cruz was an active kid growing up. He stumbled into the wrestling room as a 7th grader while looking for soccer tryouts. When one of the coaches spotted him standing in the doorway, they reportedly questioned, “What do you weigh?” Cruz mentioned he was interested in soccer trials, and the coach responded, “You’re a wrestler now.”
On that day, Cruz started competing in wrestling. He did so throughout high school and over the summers on the freestyle circuit. Unfortunately, he was unable to wrestle in college due to ruptured ankle ligaments.
Beginnings of MMA
After graduating from high school, Cruz worked as a valet parking attendant at a hotel, taught high school wrestling, worked at Lowe’s, and even enrolled in a few courses at a nearby college. At the age of 19, he visited Tucson’s Boxing Inc. to look around. Cruz began there with boxing, moved on to martial arts, and eventually made the decision to engage in combat.
On January 29, 2005, at RITC: 67, Cruz faced Eddie Castro for the first time in MMA. He triumphed in a tie vote. Before making his WEC debut on March 24, 2007, against Urijah Faber, Cruz actually won his first nine professional fights and earned the Total Combat Lightweight and Featherweight titles along the way. Early in the first round, Faber was guillotined to victory.
Cruz wasn’t even in full-time training at the time.
the WEC Bantamweight Championship
After the defeat to Faber, Cruz shifted down a weight division and began an eight-fight winning streak. The likes of Charlie Valencia, Ian McCall, Ivan Lopez, Joseph Benavidez (twice by decision), Brian Bowles, and Scott Jorgenson were defeated by him during that time. The WEC Bantamweight Title was his after his victory over Bowles.
At that point, the WEC merged with the UFC. The UFC Bantamweight Champion is Cruz. A rematch with Faber is up next.
in UFC 132, defeating Urijah Faber
Since these two last engaged in combat, a lot had changed. They would first engage in combat in a different division. The veteran was still a huge task, but Faber wasn’t quite as invincible as he previously was. Cruz was also now a full-time boxer and much more skilled than before.
As a result, Cruz was able to outbox his opponent and avoid many takedown attempts from Faber. Although Faber did land the most of the significant blows on the evening, Cruz’s performance was sufficient to win by unanimous decision.
Combative Style
Cruz is a very unconventional stand-up fighter who favors strange angles for his strikes. He possesses terrific uppercut and footwork, making him very difficult to hit. Alternatively said, the former wrestler is among the top stand-up competitors in the bantamweight class.
Cruz is also a heart and courage machine who fights valiantly. He shows a strong wrestling background from a ground standpoint. He’s renowned for having excellent takedown defense.
