Dominick Cruz was a guest at UFC Tonight, and the very emotional UFC Bantamweight champion talked about re-injuring his knee, and going for a second ACL surgery. Already out for several months, Cruz will have to go back to square one and will be out for an extended period as he recuperates.
Cruz said he re-injured his knee while doing very light training after thanksgiving, saying “I was going in with the guy I was training with many times, all the time and we were moving, we were doing 50 percent movement drills with each other where basically working with each other shadow boxing. And on the mat that I was on, with my brace, I don’t know man, I was moving and I went to hit a pivot, and the tissue just popped”
“I had some thoughts like, ‘no way this happened just moving’, because I’ve done so much more than that in (physical therapy) with my PT guy. I was shocked that it happened and it just popped.”
Choking back the tears, Cruz went on to talk about the emotional roller coaster that comes with that second debilitating injury, but still vowed to come back strong.
“I’m having my few days of crybaby time per-se. I’ve allowed myself to be mad and be sad, you know, you go through the, ‘why me stage?’ What’s the point, you know?”
“If the fans can know how much it helps me, they’ll know right now. Thank you guys so much. I do this for you guys. I’m in a hurt spot right now, and the love that I get from the fans right now is really keeping me up and keeping me optimistic,”
“My glass is half full right now because the fans have my back, they want to see me back and that means everything to me. This is the toughest thing that I have been through. And I’m completely heartbroken to let down the people who wanted to see me fight, to let down the UFC and to let down anyone in the Bantamweight division. I’ll be back. I’m not done. That’s a promise, a guarantee.”
As a fighter who thrives on movement, speed, and timing, it is critical that Cruz returns to top form following rehab. Georges St. Pierre has recently competed and recovered from his own ACL injury, looking like his prime old self, and hopefully the bantamweight champ can do the same.
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