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Henry Cejudo believes that injuries ultimately derailed Dominick Cruz’s career.
Cruz, a former two-time UFC bantamweight champion, officially announced his retirement after a recurring shoulder injury forced him to withdraw from his scheduled co-main event bout against Rob Font at UFC Fight Night Seattle. The 39-year-old has long struggled with injuries, often spending extended periods on the sidelines.
Cejudo, who headlines Saturday's event against Song Yadong, compared Cruz’s career to former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. While both faced early setbacks due to injuries, Cejudo noted that Nurmagomedov could overcome them and adapt.
That’s his decision,” Cejudo said at media day. “He may go back and be like, ‘Hey, you know what, maybe I want my last dance to be done correctly.’ I don’t think he really made those adjustments as a fighter to really understand his body more. I’m going to give you guys an example: Khabib did a really good job of going through injuries and then adapted and adjusted, and how is it that he can get better? A lot of fighters have gone through that, but I don’t think Dominick ever really found it—whether it was rest, nutrition, overtraining, undertraining, whatever that may be.
Cejudo’s last fight before his first retirement was a successful bantamweight title defense against Cruz at UFC 249 in May 2020. He won by second-round TKO. The two never fully reconciled after the fight, and their rivalry remains unresolved.
Despite this, Cejudo acknowledged Cruz’s role in elevating the lighterweight divisions in MMA.
He brought a lot of attention to the lower weight classes,” Cejudo said. “His fight with Urijah Faber, his fight with Cody (Garbrandt), his fight with all the (Team) Alpha Male (fighters)—that’s what really put the lighter weight divisions on the map. Then obviously my rivalry and his, which probably is still not even over. He probably still hates my guts as much as I hate his, but I guess the only thing I can say is I’m glad I ain’t fighting him because that would have really sucked, and congratulations to him that he just retired.
While Cruz’s career was marred by injuries, his legacy as a pioneer of the bantamweight division remains secure.