UFC star retires after a canceled fight, Sean Strickland clears up staph rumors, Joe Rogan tears up during podcast: MMA News Roundup

A former UFC champion and a bonafide legend called it quits after a booked fight fell through due to injury. Elsewhere, Sean Strickland addressed the rumors about his alleged staph infection.

Catch up with today's top combat sports updates with Sportskeeda MMA.

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Dominick Cruz retires after UFC Seattle withdrawal

Dominick Cruz was scheduled to fight Rob Font in the co-main event of UFC Seattle on Feb. 22 but had to pull out due to an injury. A 135-pound battle between Henry Cejudo and Song Yadong will headline the event.

A day later, the former UFC bantamweight champion, revealed what happened to him and also announced his retirement from the sport:

"I have poured every ounce of myself into this sport for the last 25 years. I was really hopeful for one final fight but unfortunately, two shoulder dislocations in 8 months call an end to this guy’s career."

Read the full statement below:

The MMA community paid wholehearted tribute in the comment section, wishing Cruz good luck for the future. Dricus du Plessis wrote:

"What an absolute legend take a bow and know you will forever be remembered king. Thank you for what you did."

Urijah Faber wrote:

"Wow! Congrats on a great career brotha! Shared some good times in there. You da man."

Megan Olivi said:

"Legendary career, Dom!"

Read more reactions here.

Cruz will continue to work as a commentator and analyst for UFC event broadcasts.

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Sean Strickland clears the air on staph infection rumors

Dricus du Plessis shared a photo of Sean Strickland taken during the UFC 312 fight week and alleged that his opponent had a staph infection. The rumor spread and fans became concerned for the main event.

Strickland addressed the matter during the pre-event press conference and claimed he was completely healthy:

"You see this f**king mustache? I give staph, I don’t f**king get staph... Calm the f**k down. I don’t get sick. I don’t get f*cking injured and I don’t get f*cking staph. So relax. I’m going to be out there on Sunday and I’m going to come out f*cking hard and strong. The hardest and strongest you’ve ever f**king seen. To the f**king death, Dutchman."

Check out Sean Strickland's comment below (1:05):

However, UFC fans were not convinced. A reddish-purple bruise on his left upper arm has led people to believe that Strickland has an infection after all.

The two lock horns for the UFC middleweight belt on the line on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney, Australia.

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Joe Rogan gets emotional during JRE show

Joe Rogan recently got emotional on his podcast remembering the devastation of the California fires. Over the years regions of L.A. have suffered from multiple large-scale fire incidents, either triggered naturally or caused by humans or accidents.

From Jan. 7 to 31, a series of seven destructive fires raged through the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego county, destroying 18,000 properties, forcing 200,000-plus to evacuate, and killing 29. The Palisades and Eaton fires are reportedly the third and second-most destructive ones in California's history, respectively.

During episode #2268 of The Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC commentator looked back at similar fire tragedies that he witnessed when he lived in the area before moving to Texas:

"Unfortunately, the fire insurance issue in Los Angeles is kind of insane, where, you know, we were talking in the lobby before. I was evacuated three times when I lived in L.A. Two of my neighbors lost their homes, you know. And watching those folks cry in front of the rubble where they lived is just -- It's just horrible, you know."

At this point, Rogan got emotional and was seen wiping his eyes.

"But they kept their lives. And this was 2018. And, you know, they rebuild some of them. Two of the houses are still gone in my old neighborhood. They never rebuilt. They just pulled out. They just like, 'What am I going to do?' They lose everything."

Listen to Joe Rogan's comments below (18:45):

Rogan has previously called out California's governor Gavin Newsom for mishandling the incident.