Dominick Cruz
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)
San Diego, CA USA
"I didn’t dabble in a bunch of different things...like a magnifying glass, I focused in on one thing and started a fire."
Career Roadmap
Dominick's work combines: Sports, Entrepreneurship, and Being Physically Active
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Join the wrestling team or get involved in martial arts after school.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
His father left the family when he was five years old, so he was raised by his hardworking mother and grandmother—says this forced him to grow up and be more motivated.
2.
Was a wrestler in high school and was on track to receive a wrestling scholarship to a college in Northern Colorado—got injured his senior year and lost the scholarship.
3.
Due to his injury, low grades, and lack of financial aid, he was unable to go to college right out of high school.
4.
Worked several part-time jobs including cleaning and maintaining a gym, delivering paint, and coaching a kids wrestling team—this allowed him the flexibility to train and compete as an MMA fighter.
5.
When he was 19, he started taking night classes at his local community college with the goal of becoming a firefighter.
6.
With his fighting career taking off, he had to choose between pursuing school or pursuing fighting—decided to fight while he was young, saying, “I can always go back to school if I fail at sports.”
7.
Encountered a lot of negativity about his decision to pursue fighting over school, but it was a simple decision for him: “The one thing that made me happy was being in the gym and coaching.”
8.
He is now a two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion with several world titles and only two career losses.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Family:
You should finish school, fighting can wait.
How I responded:
I can always go back to school if I fail at sports. The one thing that makes me happy is being in the gym and coaching.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
My dad left the family when I was 5 years old and I was raised by my mother and grandmother. It forced me to grow up a lot faster.
In high school, I was on track to receive a college wrestling scholarship, but I got injured and lost all of it.