UFC CEO Dana White fully supports Dominick Cruz ’s decision to retire from MMA. Former UFC and WEC champion Cruz (24-4 MMA, 7-3 UFC) was scheduled to compete in his final fight on Feb. 22 against Rob Font, but sustained another serious shoulder injury that forced him to pull the plug on his career sooner than planned.

The former UFC men's bantamweight champion announced his retirement from MMA competition in a social-media post on Thursday. According to Cruz, the same injuries that had forced him out of what was to be his final professional fight at a UFC Fight Night event in Seattle later this month had also pushed him to hang up the gloves for good.

Cruz’s second reign as champion ended in December 2016, as he lost a decision to Cody Garbrandt in a surprisingly one-sided fight. That defeat, courtesy of an iconic performance by Garbrandt, marked the end of Cruz’s nine-year winning run.