Cruz recognizes that he will have to rebuild his path towards the UFC belt

Dominick Cruz hasn't fought since October 2011. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

Dominick Cruz he’s not waiting for a title fight as soon as he’s healthy so he can make his long-awaited return to the UFC. The fighter lost the bantamweight title due to the long time he was inactive, as his last fight took place in October 2011.

Since then, Cruz has suffered some serious injuries, the most serious of which is his knee. He came close to making his return in February, but was injured again, which made him relinquish his title and hand it over to the interim champion, Renan Barao.

In an interview with the North American website “MMA Fighting”, Cruz stated that he is mentally ready to start his journey towards a new fight for the title. “I never picked fights at any point in my career, not even when I was the champion. I still believe, in my heart of hearts, that I am the best bantamweight in the world once I am fully healthy. But I never picked fights and I won't start doing that now. Regardless of what fight they offer me, I accept it. I will be in my position as long as I deserve it, and I will rebuild my path if I need to,” Cruz explained.

After his most recent injury, little has been said about when the American will return to the UFC. And he explains why: “The reason I don't have a prediction is because I'm trying to get my body back. My idea is to come back and stay active, and not come back for a fight and get hurt again. I’m trying to get my body back to 100%, and I’ll be back later this year,” he commented.

Initially, it was reported that Cruz's most recent injury was to his groin. However, the fighter corrected the information and stated that the problem occurred in a muscle in his leg. “It was announced that it was a groin injury because it is a confusing injury. The quadriceps ruptured basically at the groin level, close to the pelvis. So, it's like a groin injury, but it's not. It was pretty ugly”, said the fighter, who said he still can't kick with his leg due to the injury.

Cruz had just two fights in the UFC, against Urijah faber and the current flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson. He won both by unanimous decision of the judges. In his MMA career, he has a record of 19 wins and one defeat, this one suffered by Faber himself in 2007, in the now defunct WEC event.