Dana White “glad” Dominick Cruz retired
To the delight of UFC CEO Dana White, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz recently announced his retirement from professional mixed martial arts competition.
“He’ll have a great career after his [fighting] career,” White said at the UFC 312 post-fight press conference over the weekend. “I’m blown away that he hung in there as long as he did. I mean, who’s been more injured than this guy? … I’m glad that he finally hung it up.”
Cruz, a two-time bantamweight champion and one of the greatest bantamweights of all time, has been plagued by injuries that have sidelined him for extensive periods of time, sometimes years. When not competing inside the octagon, Cruz serves as a broadcast analyst for the UFC.
“When you have the type of experience and type of career he’s had, and you can sit in the booth and talk fights, it’s awesome,” White said. “He’ll have a great career after his career.”
The former champ was to compete in his official retirement bout later this month at UFC Seattle opposite Rob Font but a nagging shoulder injury pulled him from the contest and forced him to hang the gloves up earlier than he had liked.
“I have poured every ounce of myself into this sport for the last 25 years,” Cruz wrote on Instagram. “I was really hopeful for one final fight, but unfortunately, two shoulder dislocations in eight months calls an end to this guy’s career.”
