Dominick Cruz has revealed that he suffered from severe depression as a result of his past injuries.

Throughout the course of his mixed martial arts career, and especially his UFC run, Dominick Cruz has been recognised as one of the best bantamweights of all-time. In addition to being the 135-pound king in WEC, Cruz was able to take that success over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he captured the belt twice and defended it five times.

Unfortunately for the 36-year-old, he’s missed a large chunk of his prime as a result of accumulative injuries across the last decade or so.

A torn ACL, a torn groin, a torn ACL in his other knee, plantar fascia tendinitis, a broken arm and an injured shoulder. That’s just a taste of what the veteran has had to endure and between 2012 and 2015, he fought just once.

That was followed up by another extended absence between late 2016 and May 2020, but thankfully for the man himself and his fans, he managed to get in two fights in 2021 - both of which he won.

As he prepares to head back into the Octagon once again, Cruz has spoken candidly about the struggles he’s gone through.

“Every time you blow your knee out, your leg shrinks to nothing, so you’ve got to rebuild it. It takes nine months of rebuilding, nine, eighteen, you do the math.”

“Injuries while training is one of the toughest things you can ever deal with. I was so depressed at one point I just didn’t really want to live.

“I think the biggest thing I learned through the injuries is that when in doubt, focus out.”

“When you’re really doubting everything in your own life, focus on who you can make a difference for and it’ll pull you out of the depths of hell. There has to be something bigger that’s driving you than just you.”

The next big test

As he continues to push for another crack at the UFC bantamweight championship, ‘The Dominator’ will appear for the first time in 2022 this weekend when he battles Marlon Vera.

‘Chito’ is a considerable favourite given the run of form he’s been on but if there’s anyone who can upset the status quo, it’s Cruz.