Dominick Cruz, the former UFC bantamweight champion and future Hall of Famer, said he wants one last fight in the Octagon.

At 39 years old, Cruz is still hungry to close out his storied career on a high note, as he informed me during an interview in Mexico City, where he is training at the UFC Performance Institute.

Cruz Prepares for One Last Fight

Dominick Cruz Teases UFC Comeback: 'I’m Building Myself Up for One Last Fight'
When Dominick Cruz fell to the Top 15 of UFC rankings, he decided to make the one last dance of his career. He's now ready for his 2025 comeback. Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images

Cruz has been training to get back in shape and ready for his return bout. The last time fans saw him was in 2022 when he lost via fourth-round KO versus Marlon Vera, yet Cruz told TMZ he is coming back stronger than ever.

"I'll tell you, I think I got a last dance," he said. "I want one last dance in me. Just go out there and have fun. And when I say fun, I mean fight to the bitter death and see what I have in me."

Cruz is Persistent to Prove Something Big After 2024

Cruz said that finding the right matchup and scheduling have been issues.

"I wanted to get after it this year," he said. "But it's not looking like a matchup is getting negotiated exactly the way it is. There's some guys out there who looked really good; that whole division is stacked."

Still, Cruz remains optimistic about his prospects, pointing out the quality of talent in the stacked bantamweight division and telling the story of a few fighters who've recently caught his attention.

Somehow, he might have realized that he had already fallen in the top 15 UFC rankings. This could also be the reason why he is hellbent to come back stronger than before—after two years of inactivity.

A Legendary Career Nearing Its End

A career tally of 24-4 boasts Cruz to some serious victories over the sport's most iconic fighters, including Urijah Faber, T.J. Dillashaw, and Demetrious Johnson. The former champion is now just one victory away from retiring on his laurels.

For Cruz, it is not just about winning on that last page of his UFC book but about going out on his own terms, leaving a legacy to be one of the great bantamweights in MMA history.

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