‘Are You Really Undefeated’- Dominick Cruz Takes a Dig at Khabib Nurmagomedov for Retiring Early From UFC

To many UFC fans and pundits, former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is one of the best fighters in the history of the UFC, given his undefeated record. However, the former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz doubts the legacy of the Russian fighter.

‘The Dominator’ is coming off a fresh win over Casey Kenny. He will soon be back in action against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 269 before the year ends. Ahead of his fight, Cruz appeared in the latest episode of MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

In the interview, while talking about the ups and downs in his career, ‘The Dominator’ took a dig at the former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov. He said, “I look at this whole sport from a completely different frame of mind these days than I ever looked at before. Because I’ve had to rewrite my belief systems as I’ve won and lost, won and lost. That’s one of the reasons I’m here.”

He added, “I’d never felt that much loss for two years in my life. And then to come back and win again after feeling that loss, there’s no understanding of yourself like that. So any athlete who left the sport undefeated, I question: Are you really undefeated? Or did you not challenge yourself as hard as you could’ve? And if you did, what would it look like on the other side?”

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Anybody who leaves undefeated in this sport, I get it, you’re undefeated. But are you undefeated? Or could you have just pushed a little harder to get that next level? And get that loss and then come back and reclaim the loss with a win and see what your next level, what your next evolution in life is.”

Dominick Cruz Talks About His Losses

‘The Dominator’ has an amazing professional fighting career of 23-3 under his name. He had only one loss before his UFC debut. He became the UFC bantamweight champion by defeating Urijah Faber at UFC 132 and had three title defenses under his name.

Unfortunately, his twelve-fight unbeaten streak got snapped after his defeat against Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207. Cruz also lost his bantamweight crown and took a long hiatus from fighting.

He returned to the octagon after four years to win back the gold strap against Henry Cejudo. But sadly, he faced the same fate on his return. It was a rough time for the 36-year-old. However, Cruz was unfazed by the defeats. Instead, he learned and improved himself as a fighter.

In the same interview, he said, “It’s not all about just winning and being perfect. Nothing in life is that. You can’t dodge loss, you can’t dodge pain. You can’t dodge any of it. So what’s the point? You might as well just go right through it. I was fortunate enough to have that experience and be that, and I’m still on that ride. And let’s see what comes next.”

Cruz improved from his defeat and bounced back in the win column and will look to stay in the green with a win in his next bout in December.

What are your thoughts about Cruz’s comments on ‘The Eagle?’ Let us know in the comments.

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