Cruz plans to come back stronger
Dominick Cruz: “Why can’t I do it? Why can’t I come back and be stronger than ever? There’s no question I can do it, in my mind.”
In 2012, former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz injured his left knee requiring surgery. His body rejected the cadaver Anterior Cruciate Ligament and he need the surgery again. When he started training he injured it again, requiring surgery again. The he tore his quadriceps.
When he finally came back vs. Takeya Mizugaki in Sept, nearly three years had passed. And he dazzled.
Over the weekend Cruz, 29, announced that he had injured the knee while throwing a high kick in training on Dec 9, and would require surgery for now the third time. The hardcore fanbase wondered if this meant Cruz might retire. However, “The Dominator” recently appeared on a UFC media call and said the thought of retiring never cross his mind.
“Why can’t I do it?” said Cruz as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMAFighting. “Why can’t I come back and be stronger than ever? There’s no question I can do it, in my mind.”
“I truly, truly believe after I get my right knee fixed, it’ll be stronger than it was before. It’s basically like getting two brand new knees.”
“For me to retire, for me to think about stopping and to not put my head down and do the [physical therapy] is absolutely insane to me, because this is what I want to do.
“It’s another mountain to climb. I’m fully capable of handling this mountain. I have all the tools, I have the age and I have the mindset to handle this.”
“The path has been chosen for me. I can sit here and try to blame myself and say, ‘How come everybody else can go through surgery with no problems?’ Realistically, the way I get through this is I think about the people out there that have real problems. I still have a job, I’m still promoted by the UFC, I still have a job with FOX, I still can be in the gym and help these guys get better, I can still elevate the sport of mixed martial arts, which is my passion. I can still come back and fight and win.”
“I’m not happy about this by any means, but it’s also not going to drop me in a funk. I’m not going to allow it to stop me.”
Surgery is scheduled for Jan 15. Cruz hopes to fight again in six to nine months. Cruz would likely in line for a title shot and hopes he still is, but said he understands if another tune up fight is in order first.