{"id":156970,"date":"2015-07-23T12:31:28","date_gmt":"2015-07-23T19:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=156970"},"modified":"2022-02-04T18:36:24","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T02:36:24","slug":"dominick-cruz-ready-to-reclaim-his-belt-eyes-year-end-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/ufcnews\/dominick-cruz-ready-to-reclaim-his-belt-eyes-year-end-return\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominick Cruz Ready To Reclaim His Belt, Eyes Year End Return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Cruz.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Cruz.png\" alt=\"Cruz\" width=\"730\" height=\"380\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-156468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Cruz.png 730w, https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Cruz-300x156.png 300w, https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Cruz-585x305.png 585w, https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Cruz-390x203.png 390w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nFormer UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (20-1 MMA) returned to action for the first time since October of 2011 this past September at UFC 178, where he earned an impressive knockout victory over Takeya Mizugaki in just 61-seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately for &#8220;The Dominator&#8221;, who has been plagued by injuries since he made the transition from the WEC to the UFC, he suffered another torn ACL in training shortly after his 2014 win.<\/p>\n<p>Cruz recently sat down with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_9UVf21OR_8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Inside MMA<\/a> where he discussed his rehab, as well as a timetable for his return:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cMy goal is to try to be back by the end of the year. That\u2019s my goal. I\u2019ve already had my title stripped. I\u2019ve already been dropped out of the rankings. What do I need to rush for is the way I\u2019m thinking right now. Every thing that I\u2019ve earned has already been taken from me,\u201d Cruz said in an interview with Inside MMA.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI want to go out, into this next fight, very healthy, and I definitely want to fight for the title. I don\u2019t care who has it. I believe I\u2019m the best in the world. I believe I never lost that position. The only thing that we\u2019re waiting for is for me to come back and earn it.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The bantamweight strap is currently wrapped around the waist of TJ Dillashaw, who will put his title on the line against Renan Barao this Saturday night at UFC on FOX 16 in Chicago.<\/p>\n<p>Who would you like to see Dominick Cruz fight in his octagon return? Sound off Penn Nation!<\/p>\n<p><strong>BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, &amp; Frank Trigg Talk Fighting&#8230; Eachother &#8212; EPIC! &#8211; AMAZING! &#8211; MUST WATCH!<\/strong><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: block; position: relative; max-width: 560px;\">\n<div style=\"display: block; padding-top: 56.25%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;\" src=\"\/\/players.brightcove.net\/3674338004001\/eaee41e3-5171-4ead-a4ec-4e7670e9e465_default\/index.html?videoId=4362815275001\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz (20-1 MMA) returned to action for the first time since October of 2011 this past September at UFC 178, where he earned an impressive knockout victory over Takeya Mizugaki in just 61-seconds. Unfortunately for &#8220;The Dominator&#8221;, who has been plagued by injuries since he made the transition from the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":156468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[2681],"tags":[291,16],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v19.7 (Yoast SEO v19.14) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dominick Cruz Ready To Reclaim His Belt, Eyes Year End Return | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dominick Cruz eyes a year end return and is eager to get his belt back! 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