Daron Cruickshank

Background

Originally from Westland, Michigan, Cruickshank began training in combat sports from a young age. Both of Cruickshank's parents are fourth degree black belts in Taekwondo who ran their own schools. His father is a former mixed martial artist with multiple black belts, while his mother is also a former professional competitor in kickboxing and boxing. Cruickshank is a second-degree black belt in Taekwondo and was also a talented wrestler, having competed in wrestling and also swimming since he was in the eighth grade. He wrestled collegiately, and was a NJCAA national finalist, as well as a two-time NCAA Division III national qualifier at Olivet College where he earned a bachelor's degree in fitness management.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Cruickshank made his amateur debut in August 2008 where he defeated Tom Grisham via KO at XCC 11: Duel in Downriver 2. He then went on to compile an amateur record of 8–1 while capturing two titles.

King of the Cage

In his professional debut he fought Ricky Stettner at KOTC: Strike Point, where he won by first-round KO.

He fought Bobby Green at KOTC: Imminent Danger for the Junior Welterweight Championship but lost by a guillotine choke in round 2.

Bellator Fighting Championships

On July 12, 2011, it was announced that Cruickshank signed a contract with Bellator Fighting Championships to fight on their upcoming Summer Series card on July 23. He was to fight Lithuanian fighter Sergej Juskevic but the fight was scrapped at the last minute.

The Ultimate Fighter

He competed on The Ultimate Fighter: Live, beginning in March, 2012. In the elimination fight, he defeated Drew Dober by unanimous decision to get into the TUF house. Cruickshank was selected third (sixth overall) by Urijah Faber to be part of his team. In the first fight on the show, he was chosen to face James Vick of Team Cruz. Despite controlling much of the action in the opening round, he was knocked out with a knee on a takedown attempt.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Cruickshank faced fellow cast member Chris Tickle on June 1, 2012, at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

He was expected to take on Henry Martinez on September 1, 2012, at UFC 151. However, after UFC 151 was cancelled, the bout was rescheduled to December 8, 2012, at UFC on Fox 5. He won the fight via knockout in the second round.

He next fought John Makdessi on March 16, 2013, at UFC 158. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. In the final 10 seconds of the Makdessi fight, he had his nose badly injured and wound up having surgery to repair what his doctor called "the worst thing he's ever seen." He underwent the surgery in May 2013.

Cruickshank faced off against Yves Edwards on July 27, 2013, at UFC on Fox 8, replacing an injured Spencer Fisher. He won the fight via split decision in a closely contested fight.

He fought Adriano Martins on November 9, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 32. Martins defeated him via submission in the second round.

Cruickshank faced Mike Rio on January 25, 2014, at UFC on Fox 10. He won the fight by wheel kick to the face and punches at 4:56 of the second round.

He took on Erik Koch on May 10, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 40. Cruickshank, a significant betting underdog, won the fight via TKO due to a kick and punches in the first round.

Cruickshank faced Jorge Masvidal on July 26, 2014, at UFC on Fox 12. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

He fought Anthony Njokuani on October 4, 2014, at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Cruickshank faced K. J. Noons on December 12, 2014, at The Ultimate Fighter 20 Finale. After a back-and-forth first round, the fight was stopped in the second round when Cruickshank received a second inadvertent eye poke and was unable to continue. Because they had not reached the third round, the fight was declared a No Contest.

He fought Beneil Dariush on March 14, 2015, at UFC 185. He missed weight and was fined 20 percent of his purse, which went to Dariush. He lost the fight via submission in the second round.

Cruickshank took on James Krause on July 25, 2015, at UFC on Fox 16. He lost the fight by submission in the first round.

He faced Paul Felder on January 17, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 81. He lost the fight via submission in the third round.

After losing three straight fights, he was released from his UFC contract on March 1, 2016.

Rizin FF

In March 2016, it was announced that Cruickshank had signed with Rizin Fighting Federation. He made his debut against Shinji Sasaki on April 17, 2016, and won the fight via TKO due to soccer kicks in the first round.

In his second fight for the promotion, he faced Dutch kickboxer Andy Souwer on September 25, 2016. He won via submission due to a rear-naked choke in the first round.

He was expected to face Chris Brown at WXC 77 on April 24, 2019. However, Brown missed the contracted weight and Cruickshank declined to proceed to the bout.

Cruickshank faced Tofiq Musayev at Rizin 16 - Kobe on June 2, 2019. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

He fought Goiti Yamauchi at Bellator & Rizin: Japan on December 29, 2019. He lost the fight via a rear-naked choke submission in the first round.

Post-Rizin

While still being under contract with Rizin but unable to enter Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cruickshank signed a one-fight contract with Taura MMA. In his promotional debut, he took on Deivison Ribeiro at Taura MMA 11 on October 30, 2020. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Cruickshank faced Guilherme Faria on August 6, 2021, at XFC 45. He lost the bout via split decision.

Personal life

In 2013, he founded Michigan Top Team in co-operation with Jason Fischer.

Mixed martial arts record

| ko-wins= 14 | ko-losses= 2 | sub-wins= 2 | sub-losses= 8 | dec-wins= 7 | dec-losses= 4 | dq-wins= | dq-losses= | other-wins=

| |Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

| |Kissimmee, Florida, United States | |- |Loss |Goiti Yamauchi |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Bellator 237 | |Saitama, Japan

| |Kobe, Japan | |- |Loss |Damien Brown |Submission (guillotine choke) |Rizin 14 | |Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |Diego Brandão |KO (flying knee) |Rizin 13 | |Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |Tom Santos |TKO (submission to elbows) |Rizin 11 | |Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |Koshi Matsumoto |KO (head kick) |Rizin 10 | |Fukuoka, Japan | |- |Win |Alexander Trevino |TKO (head kick and punches) |KnockOut Promotions 58 | |Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

| |Yokohama, Japan | |- | Loss | Satoru Kitaoka | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 2nd Round | | Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |Andy Souwer |Submission (rear-naked choke) |Rizin World Grand Prix 2016: 1st Round | |Saitama, Japan | |- |Win |Shinji Sasaki |TKO (soccer kicks) |Rizin 1 | |Nagoya, Japan | |- |Loss |Paul Felder |Submission (rear-naked choke) |UFC Fight Night: Dillashaw vs. Cruz | |Boston, Massachusetts, United States | |- | Loss | James Krause | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 2 | | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |- | Loss | Beneil Dariush | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 185 | | Dallas, Texas, United States

| | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

| | Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | |- | Loss | Jorge Masvidal | Decision (unanimous) | UFC on Fox: Lawler vs. Brown | | San Jose, California, United States | |- | Win | Erik Koch | TKO (head kick and punches) | UFC Fight Night: Brown vs. Silva | | Cincinnati, Ohio, United States | |- | Win | Mike Rio | TKO (spinning wheel kick and punches) | UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Thomson | | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |- | Loss | Adriano Martins | Submission (straight armbar) | UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson | | Goiânia, Brazil | |- | Win | Yves Edwards | Decision (split) | UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga | | Seattle, Washington, United States | |- | Loss | John Makdessi | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 158 | | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | |- | Win | Henry Martinez | KO (head kick) | UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz | | Seattle, Washington, United States

| | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

| | Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

| | Montreal, Quebec, Canada

| | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

| | Parma, Ohio, United States

| | Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States | |- | Win | Anthony Smith | TKO (punches) | KOTC: Civil War 2 | | Royal Oak, Michigan, United States | |- | Loss | Bobby Green | Submission (guillotine choke) | KOTC: Imminent Danger | | Mescalero, New Mexico, United States

| | Detroit, Michigan, United States | |- | Win | Raul Mandez | KO (punches) | KOTC: Upper Cut | | Laughlin, Nevada, United States | |- | Win | Dominic Deshazor | TKO (punches) | XCC: Beatdown at the Ballroom 9 | | Mt. Clemens, Michigan, United States | |- | Win | Brett Biederman | Submission (rear-naked choke) | XCC: Rumble in Royal Oak 5 | | Royal Oak, Michigan, United States | |- | Win | Ricky Stettner | KO (spinning back fist) | KOTC: Strike Point | | Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, United States | Welterweight debut.

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

| ko-wins= | ko-losses= 1 | sub-wins= | sub-losses= | dec-wins= 1 | dec-losses= | dq-wins= | dq-losses= | other-wins=

References

References

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14. (May 23, 2012). "TUF Live Finale adds Cruickshank-Tickle". MMAJunkie.com.
15. (July 20, 2012). "Martinez vs. Cruickshank added to UFC 151". MMAJunkie.com.
16. (August 27, 2012). "Cruickshank-Martinez moved from scrapped UFC 151 to UFC on FOX 5". mmajunkie.com.
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18. {{usurped
19. Staff. (2013-07-11). "Daron Cruickshank replaces Spencer Fisher, meets Yves Edwards at UFC on FOX 8". mmajunkie.com.
20. Staff. (2013-09-18). "Daron Cruickshank vs. Adriano Martins added to UFC Fight Night 32". mmajunkie.com.
21. Staff. (2014-02-27). "Erik Koch vs. Daron Cruickshank joins UFC Fight Night 40 in Cincinnati". mmajunkie.com.
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24. Staff. (2014-09-04). "Daron Cruickshank meets Anthony Njokuani at UFC Fight Night 54 in Halifax". mmajunkie.com.
25. Tristen Critchfield. (2014-10-09). "Lightweights Daron Cruickshank, K.J. Noons Paired at 'TUF 20' Finale on Dec. 12". sherdog.com.
26. Steven Marrocco. (2014-12-12). "TUF 20 Finale results: Eye pokes lead to no-contest for Daron Cruickshank, K.J. Noons". mmajunkie.com.
27. Staff. (2015-01-15). "Daron Cruickshank vs. Beneil Dariush lightweight bout added to UFC 185 in Dallas". mmajunkie.com.
28. Brian Knapp. (2015-03-13). "UFC 185 Weigh-In Results: Anthony Pettis, Rafael dos Anjos Cleared For Title Headliner". sherdog.com.
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31. Staff. (2015-10-22). "Daron Cruickshank vs. Paul Felder slotted for UFC Fight Night 81 in Boston". mmajunkie.com.
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33. (2016-03-01). "Daron Cruickshank released by the UFC".
34. Ryan Fortune. (April 24, 2019). "WXC 77: Warrior Wednesday 2 Live Results".
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36. Damon Martin. (November 14, 2019). "Lorenz Larkin, Patrick Mix among five to compete in Bellator vs. RIZIN fights in December". mmafighting.com.
37. Guilherme Cruz. (September 17, 2020). "Daron Cruickshank to face Brazilian prospect Deivison Ribeiro at Taura MMA 11". mmafighting.com.
38. Rob Tatum. (October 30, 2020). "Taura MMA 11 Results: Wilson Dominates Moreira, Captures Light Heavyweight Belt".
39. DeSantis, Michael. (August 3, 2021). "XFC 45 Breakdown with XFC President Myron Molotky".
40. Andrew Harbaugh. (August 7, 2021). "XFC 45 Results - Faria vs. Cruickshank".