Following his victory, Cruz would rejoin WEC and win his next four fights in the bantamweight division to earn his second title fight with the promotion against the undefeated champion, Brian Bowles, in the main event of WEC 47.
WEC 47: BOWLES vs CRUZ took place on March 6, 2010, at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and served as Cruz’s first professional main event. Cruz set the pace from the opening bell, using his speed and elevated movement to connect on several punches and low kicks to win the first round.
Cruz continued his dominance of the fight in the second round, striking Bowles with a series of punch and low kick combinations to counter the champions attacks. After the winning the second round, Cruz was declared the winner and new WEC bantamweight champion, as Bowles was unable to continue due to a broken right hand.
Cruz would win his next seven fights over six years, defending the WEC bantamweight title two times and becoming the inaugural UFC bantamweight champion by defeating Scott Jorgensen in the co-main event of WEC 53: HENDERSON vs PETTIS.
WEC 53 was the final event of the promotion before merging with UFC and the only time a UFC title fight occurred during a non-UFC event.
After losing the UFC bantamweight title to Cody Garbrandt in the co-main event of UFC 207: NUNES vs ROUSEY, Cruz would win two of his final four fights. Cruz retired in February 2025, two and a half years after his last fight, where he lost to former UFC bantamweight title challenger Marlon “Chito” Vera in the main event of UFC on ESPN: VERA vs CRUZ.
