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Dominick Cruz is the only active fighter on the UFC roster who serves as a play-by-play commentator for the promotion. While the bantamweight fighter is happy with his role, he admits that it can be difficult considering he still competes in the octagon.
Appearing on the Anik & Florian Podcast, 'The Dominator' explained what makes his desk job so daunting:
"For me, calling fights while I'm competing is the hardest thing I can do. Fighting when a friend's fighting, adding to that makes it even double. I've got Jeremy Stephens who's a friend and I'm calling his fight and that makes me nervous, but then I'm also competing so I can put myself in that scenario."
Cruz added:
"When you're sitting next to that octagon and I can't help but put myself in the bare feet of the guys that are in the octagon that night because it could be me, it is me! So it can be pretty daunting to do that job, [to] compartmentalize. It's not always as easy as people might think."
Catch Dominick Cruz's full conversation with Jon Anik below:
After losing the bantamweight title to Cody Garbrandt in late 2016, Cruz went through some injury scares. The Californian served as a commentator for the UFC during this time before finally returning to action three years later in mid-2020.
Dominick Cruz set to face Marlon Vera in August
Dominick Cruz took on Henry Cejudo for the bantamweight crown in his UFC comeback in May 2020 but lost via second-round TKO. However, 'The Dominator' bounced back with two consecutive wins and will look to make it three in his first main event bout since January 2016.
Cruz is gearing up to face No.5-ranked Marlon Vera in the main event of UFC ON ESPN 41 on August 13. The pair will battle over five rounds and will look to deliver a strong performance to insert themselves into the title conversation.
During the same conversation with Jon Anik, Dominick Cruz also expressed his hopes of making history by becoming the only fighter in the division to win a third UFC title. A win against 'Chito' will take him closer to his next title shot but it will certainly be a tough challenge for the former champion at this point in his career.
