Former UFC champ Dominick Cruz eyes 'last dance' before calling it a career

Dominick Cruz has one more fight left in him.

The former bantamweight champion hasn’t competed since a knockout loss to Marlon Vera in the UFC on ESPN 41 main event in August 2022. Prior to that, Cruz (24-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) scored back-to-back wins over Casey Kenney and Pedro Munhoz.

Cruz has spent his time away from competition in the commentary booth and analyst desk, but the 39-year-old hopes to compete at least one more time before retiring.

“I’ll tell you, I think I’ve got a last dance,” Cruz told TMZ. “I want one last dance in me. Just go out there and go have fun. And when I say fun, I mean fight to the bitter death and see what I have in me.”

Cruz is currently training in Mexico City’s high altitude at the UFC Performance Institute. He’s hoping to return in the first quarter of next year.

“I wanted to get after it this year,” Cruz said. “But it’s not looking like a matchup is getting negotiated exactly right the way it is. There’s some guys out there who looked really good. The whole division is stacked, so it’s been incredible to be a part of that division. But probably early next year is what’s going to work and line up.”

Cruz was recently removed from the UFC’s top 15 bantamweight rankings after Aiemann Zahabi debuted in the standings with a win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC Fight Night 246 earlier this month.