- Dominick Cruz
-
Dominick Cruz 
Born Dominick Cruz
September 3, 1985
Tucson, Arizona, United StatesOther names The Dominator Residence San Diego, California Nationality 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) Stance Orthodox Fighting out of San Diego, California Team Alliance MMA
Team Lloyd IrvinRank 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 Cruz (born September 3, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist of Mexican descent, who competes as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the current UFC Bantamweight Champion. As of October 2011, Cruz is ranked the #1 bantamweight in the world by Sherdog.[1]
Contents
Mixed martial arts career
Cruz began his professional MMA career fighting in the Rage in a Cage and Total Combat organizations.
World Extreme Cagefighting
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.[2]
Cruz made his first title defense against Joseph Benavidez on August 18, 2010 at WEC 50.[3] 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. It was announced on the same night that Scott Jorgensen would be next in line for a title shot against Cruz.
Cruz faced Jorgensen on on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53.[4] The bout marked the last Bantamweight fight, and the last Bantamweight Championship fight under the WEC banner. The title held by Cruz was officially recognized as the UFC Bantamweight Championship after the event due to the UFC/WEC merger. Cruz defeated Jorgensen via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45), to retain the WEC Bantamweight Championship and win the UFC Bantamweight Championship.[5]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
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.[6]
A rematch with Urijah Faber took place on July 2, 2011 at UFC 132 being the first defense of the new UFC Bantamweight title.[7] In a closely contested fight, Cruz defeated Faber via unanimous decision to retain his championship and avenge the only loss on his record.[8][9] Following the bout, Cruz was awarded his blue belt under Lloyd Irvin, Jr.
Cruz defeated Demetrious Johnson via unanimous decision on October 1, 2011 at UFC on Versus 6, his second UFC title defense.[10]
Cruz is expected to face Urijah Faber for a third time (second time for UFC Bantamweight Championship) in 2012.
Personal life
Cruz's father is of Mexican descent and his mother is caucasian.[11] Cruz lived with his mother and brother in Tucson, Arizona until he was kicked out at the age of 19 for hosting a house party. He worked as a customer service representative and was studying to be a firefighter at a community college before becoming a full-time fighter. [12]
Championships and accomplishments
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC Bantamweight Championship (One time; First; Current)
- Fight of the Night (One time)
- World Extreme Cagefighting
- WEC Bantamweight Championship (One time; Last)
- Fight of the Night (Two times)
- Total Combat
- Total Combat Featherweight Championship (One time)
- Total Combat Lightweight Championship (One time)
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown 20 matches 19 wins 1 loss By knockout 6 0 By submission 1 1 By decision 12 0 Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes Win 19-1 Demetrious Johnson Decision (unanimous) UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson October 1, 2011 5 5:00 Washington D.C., United States Defended UFC Bantamweight Championship. Win 18–1 Urijah Faber Decision (unanimous) UFC 132 July 2, 2011 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Defended UFC Bantamweight Championship. Fight of the Night. Win 17–1 Scott Jorgensen Decision (unanimous) WEC 53 December 16, 2010 5 5:00 Glendale, Arizona, United States Defended WEC Bantamweight Championship; won inaugural UFC Bantamweight Championship. Win 16–1 Joseph Benavidez Decision (split) WEC 50 August 18, 2010 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Defended WEC Bantamweight Championship. Win 15–1 Brian Bowles TKO (doctor stoppage) WEC 47 March 6, 2010 2 5:00 Columbus, Ohio, United States Won WEC Bantamweight Championship. Win 14–1 Joseph Benavidez Decision (unanimous) WEC 42 August 9, 2009 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night. Win 13–1 Iván López Technical decision (unanimous) WEC 40 April 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 January 25, 2009 3 5:00 San Diego, California, United States Win 11–1 Charlie Valencia Decision (unanimous) WEC 34 June 1, 2008 3 5:00 Sacramento, California, United States Bantamweight Debut. Win 10–1 Kenneth Aimes TKO (punches) Total Combat 27 March 22, 2008 1 N/A Yuma, Arizona, United States Loss 9–1 Urijah Faber Submission (guillotine choke) WEC 26 March 24, 2007 1 1:38 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States For WEC Featherweight Championship. Win 9–0 Shad Smith Decision (unanimous) TC 18: Nightmare November 4, 2006 3 5:00 San Diego, California, United States Featherweight Debut; Won vacant Total Combat Featherweight Championship. Win 8–0 Juan Miranda Submission (rear naked choke) TC 16: Annihilation September 9, 2006 1 4:00 San Diego, California, United States Won vacant Total Combat Lightweight Championship. Win 7–0 Dave Hisquierdo Decision (split) Total Combat 15 July 15, 2006 3 5:00 San Diego, California, United States Win 6–0 Michael Barney TKO (punches) RITC 79: The Rage Returns February 24, 2006 1 2:45 Tucson, Arizona, United States Win 5–0 Nick Hedrick Decision (unanimous) RITC 75: Friday Night Fights September 30, 2005 3 3:00 Glendale, Arizona, United States Win 4–0 Josh Donahue TKO (punches) RITC 74: In Your Face September 10, 2005 2 1:09 Casa Grande, Arizona, United States Win 3–0 Tom Schwager TKO (punches) RITC 73: Arizona vs Nevada August 6, 2005 1 0:56 Glendale, Arizona, United States Win 2–0 Rosco McClellan TKO (punches) Rage in the Cage 70 June 11, 2005 2 1:26 Glendale, Arizona, United States Win 1–0 Eddie Castro Decision (split) RITC 67: Back to the Dodge January 29, 2005 3 3:00 Phoenix, Arizona, United States References
- ^ "Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings". Sherdog.com. October 11, 2011. http://www.sherdog.com/news/rankings/8/Sherdog-Official-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Rankings-36368.
- ^ "Brian Bowles defends bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz at WEC 47 on March 6". mmajunkie.com. 2009-12-11. http://mmajunkie.com/news/17180/brian-bowles-defends-bantamweight-title-against-dominick-cruz-at-wec-47-on-march-6.mma.
- ^ "Cruz vs Benavidez For The Title In August". MMAweekly.com. 2010-06-08. http://mmaweekly.com/cruz-vs-benavidez-for-the-title-in-august-2.
- ^ "WEC 53 title doubleheader features Henderson vs. Pettis, Cruz vs. Jorgensen". mmajunkie.com. 2010-09-27. http://mmajunkie.com/news/20809/wec-53-title-doubleheader-features-henderson-vs-pettis-cruz-vs-jorgensen.mma.
- ^ http://mmajunkie.com/news/21775/wec-53-play-by-play-and-live-results.mma
- ^ "UFC and WEC set to merge in 2011; events to air on Versus and Spike TV". mmajunkie.com. October 28, 2010. http://mmajunkie.com/news/21189/ufc-and-wec-set-to-merge-in-2011-events-to-air-on-versus-and-spike-tv.mma.
- ^ "Champ Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber II booked for UFC 132". mmajunkie.com. 2011-03-26. http://mmajunkie.com/news/23003/champ-dominick-cruz-vs-urijah-faber-ii-booked-for-ufc-132.mma.
- ^ "UFC 132 Play-by-Play: Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber". MMAweekly.com. 2011-06-30. http://mmaweekly.com/ufc-132-play-by-play-dominick-cruz-vs-urijah-faber.
- ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slug=ki-ufc132_cruz_beats_faber_070211
- ^ Cofield, Steve (October 1, 2011). "Cruz digs deep to retain his 135-pound title at UFC on Versus 6". Yahoo!. http://m.yahoo.com/w/sports/home/blogs/article?offset=1&urn=urn%3Anewsml%3Asports.yahoo%2Cyhoo%3A20050301%3Amma%2Carticle%2Cyhoo-ept_sports_mma_experts-wp7641%3A1&.ts=1317527334&.ysid=gZuwQHjNeYxWMs4wNaY27VuF&.intl=US&.lang=en. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
- ^ http://www.fightmagazine.com/mma-magazine/mma-article.asp?aid=587&issid=40 5 Minutes With Dominick Cruz
- ^ http://www.ufc.com/fighter/Dominick-Cruz
External links
Preceded by
Brian Bowles5th WEC Bantamweight Champion
March 6, 2010 - December 16, 2010Incumbent Vacant Title last held byFirst Champion1st UFC Bantamweight Champion
December 16, 2010 - PresentCurrent holder 
Junior dos Santos
Georges St-Pierre
Frankie EdgarFeatherweight Jose AldoBantamweight Dominick CruzCategories:- 1983 births
- Living people
- American mixed martial artists
- Mixed martial artists from Arizona
- American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent
- Bantamweight mixed martial artists
- Ultimate Fighting Championship champions
- World Extreme Cagefighting champions
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
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