Dominick Cruz reveals he was a ‘wreck’ in famous UFC title loss to Cody Garbrandt

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz says he was fighting more than merely Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207.

Dominick Cruz’s legendary return to UFC bantamweight supremacy came to a dramatic end at the hands of Cody Garbrandt at UFC 207. After reclaiming the UFC bantamweight title over TJ Dillashaw and a dominant performance against three-time rival Urijah Faber, Cruz struggled to deal with Garbrandt’s speed and striking on the Ronda Rousey-headlined card.

Fast forward to 2025, and Cruz is a retired UFC legend and one of the top analysts in modern Mixed Martial Arts. He’s likely destined for the UFC Hall of Fame as soon as next year.

But as fans, fighters, and pundits continue to reflect on Cruz’s accomplishments, he took some time to reveal the ins and outs of what went wrong against Garbrandt. It turns out, Cruz wasn’t struggling to deal with merely Garbrandt’s physical attributes inside the Octagon.

Dominick Cruz explains significant hurdles ahead of famous Cody Garbrandt loss

In a recent appearance on The Casuals MMA podcast, Cruz explained what he was going through in the lead-up to the Garbrandt fight.

“I was a wreck,” Cruz said of UFC 207.

“Like, one thing that’s impressive about Merab (Dvalishvili) is he’s had four fights. He’ll do his fourth title fight in a calendar year, and it’s the camps that beat you up. I came off of a three-and-a-half-year layoff and then fought T.J. (Dillashaw). My feet and my body wasn’t ready for that level of training – like, that many kicks, that much footwork.

“I’d come from three-and-a-half years just fixing and rehabbing stuff. So when I fought him, I got tendinitis just starting in my left foot,” Cruz continued. “And then when I get to the (Urijah) Faber fight, now I’ve got it in both feet, and then by the time I get to the Cody fight, that was before my first shoulder surgery. I had a torn labrum and I had some torn stuff in my shoulder, plus both my feet were now completely incapacitated.” (h/t MMA Junkie)

In the inaugural episode of his new MMA podcast, in which he hosted Faber, Cruz alluded to hosting Garbrandt for a future episode. That’ll be a fascinating conversation to watch once it comes to fruition.