“Sometimes, the body just doesn’t cooperate,” wrote Dominick Cruz as he announced his retirement from the sport after he pulled out of his UFC Fight Night 252 retirement bout against Rob Font. The former bantamweight GOAT asserted that he did everything that he could to compete against but the fight gods had other plans for him, “I gave everything I had and put it into preparation and training for this fight —focusing on my cardio and my body for the past year.” ‘The Dominator’ took this decision after his shoulder was dislocated twice in this camp. As the supposed GOAT of the division announced retirement, Cruz highlighted that his former opponent came forward to show affection for him.

While having a conversation with renowned journalist Ariel Helwani, ‘The Dominator’ revealed that in his retirement decision, his former opponent T.J. Dillashaw supported him. Dillashaw not only sympathized with the former champion but also provided him with the contact information of a shoulder doctor to help him regain his health. “I’ve gotten a few notes from some big names. One of the ones that stood out to me was T.J. Dillashaw, he actually reached out to me,” said Cruz.

He further added, “I was shocked. He gave me a recommendation for a shoulder doctor, and he said he was looking forward to watching me compete and was sorry I couldn’t. T.J. obviously [reached out], Faber obviously.” TJ Dillashaw and Dominick Cruz fought each other at UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs Cruz back in 2016. Cruz famously defeated him by split decision, winning back the gold he vacated years prior due to injury.

The former bantamweight champion further asserted that in addition to his former opponents, 8X F1 GP winner Danny Ricardo also reached out to him after his retirement news, “Danny Ricardo from F1, he recently retired and so he shared some of his sentiments… People who have been through a lot in their life and continue to keep moving forward, are the ones I resonate with… When they reach out, it shows there’s some strand of connectivity we’re all on.”

With a career record of 24 victories and only 4 defeats, Dominick Cruz was one of the greatest bantamweight fighters to embrace the Octagon. If it would not have been for his shoulder injury, the bantamweight legend would have done more miracles in his career. Well, his retirement fight was already a 50-50 for him considering he was not sure about his return.

Dominick Cruz gives an in-depth look into his shoulder injury

Several fighters have gone through potential career-ending injuries that would either leave them out of the Octagon for a while or forever. In Dominick Cruz’s case, it appears that he will have to leave the combat sports arena forever. While having a conversation with the Anik & Florian Podcast, ‘The Dominator’ revealed that as soon as he saw his injury, he knew he was about to end his career for good.

“The difference with this one, from the first one, was the first one was only out for maybe three minutes. It was a nice, quick slide back in. That was excruciating pain, but it was so quick. On this second one, they went to pull it in, and it did not go back. It just stayed where it was at, and all the muscles locked down on top of the nerve,” said Cruz.

The former bantamweight champion further emphasized that the second dislocation put an end to his comeback, “For about an hour and a half, from driving through traffic to the hospital to getting to the hospital and then needing to get an X-ray—because it’s not like the movies where you just slide a shoulder back in every time—it doesn’t always work that way. So the second time, it didn’t work that way.”

With the end of his legacy, the bantamweight division will be looking for the rise of another GOAT. Given that, what are your thoughts on Dominick Cruz’s career? State your thoughts in the comments below.