Dominick Cruz

I'm not always 'Dominick Cruz, Tough Guy.' Depression runs in my bloodline.

This is a game where if you don't have people who dislike you, then you don't know what it is to be liked. I've had a lot of dislike thrown at me in this game, but I've also had a lot of love.

I think we are here to challenge ourselves and make ourselves better people and not just sit around in the world simply floating through life. You should be trying to do something great and making yourself better. You should be trying to evolve. That's what I'm trying to do, and that is very important to me.

At a certain point, when I let go and was done - when I stopped and could say I was blessed and thankful to be a champion, when I finally enjoyed life from this different perspective - that's when I healed. Letting go healed me.

I don't need fighting. It's the cherry on top to this beautiful life I've been given.

Loss is part of life. If you don't have loss, you don't grow.

I kill hype for a living.

I fight to drive my percentages through the roof for winning and lower my percentage by taking the least amount of damage and least amount of hits.

Everybody's got a puncher's chance in this game. I mean every single person on Earth. But my whole focus, my whole style, my whole dynamic is built around taking that power away from you. So where is the logic in why you're different from anybody else? There is no logic in it.

I never criticized one person in any way that I did not believe was true. How am I a mean guy if I'm telling the truth? Because nobody wants to hear the truth.

What good is power if there's no connection point? My entire style's built around that actual basis.

For a long time, I felt like my identity was to fight. My identity was to be a world champion. That almost defined me.