Dominick Cruz appears to be determined to not let his torn ACL get in the way of getting back into the Octagon, announcing Tuesday on a media conference call that he plans on making a comeback and has no plans to retire.
The 29-year-old bantamweight competitor hadn't fought in almost three years before beating Takeya Mizugaki in September at UFC 178, winning the fight with a TKO in the first round, according to MMA Fighting. The hiatus was due to an ACL tear he suffered in 2012, which required two surgeries that year after the cadaver ACL the doctors used to replace the torn ligament in the first operation was rejected by his body.
"The Dominator" is confident he will get back in the ring after a third ACL surgery, which is scheduled for Jan. 15, after he tore it on Dec. 9 at his Alliance MMA gym in San Diego while pivoting on his right leg, resulting in his knee sliding out of its socket. He had to give up his shot at the bantamweight championship because of the injury, but he plans on making his return in six to nine months, before the end of 2015.
"Why can't I do it?" Cruz said. "Why can't I come back and be stronger than ever? There's no question I can do it, in my mind."
Retiring is a recommendation by many, but Cruz said quitting and not going through with the physical therapy "is absolutely insane to me, because this is what I want to do," MMA Fighting reported.
"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."
Cruz added that while no ACL surgery goes by quickly, his next surgery will be a "quick fix" compared to the treatment he had already gone through, MMA Weekly reported.
"I'm not happy about this by any means, but it's also not going to drop me into a funk, and I'm not going to allow it to stop me."
Cruz aims at having another five or six years in the sport before he decides to hang up his gloves, MMA Fighting reported. A fight with current bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw is of great interest to Cruz, though he understands if the UFC won't let that happen right away.