With recent announcement of interim title fight, Dominick Cruz trying to remain hopeful

Dominick Cruz hasn’t fought since he last defended his belt against current Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson at UFC on Versus 6 in Oct. 2011. That’s approximately a year and a half of sitting on the shelf in his prime unable to defend his title, and unable to do what he does best.

In recent interviews Cruz was hinting at the possibility of healing quickly and making a return sometime later in the year, setting his hopes high on being the next one to face reigning Bantamweight interim title champion Renan Barao. However since the recent announcement was made pitting Barao against Bantamweight contender Eddie Wineland as the main event of UFC 161, Cruz hasn’t exactly been to happy.

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I can only imagine how depressing a consecutive string of injuries requiring this amount of time to heal, would make an athlete of Cruz’ caliber. Cruz recently spoke with MMAFighting.com via text message regarding his progress and the situation in general:

“I’m listening to my doctors and I’m not putting extra pressure on myself by giving any timeline because it’s not possible to do so as of now. Everything associated with recovery/rehab is on track 100 percent.”

“I’m out of the equation until I’m cleared by the doctor. Barao is the champion for now, and my belt/title defenses up to this point save me a spot to fight the interim champion when I am healed.”

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“The UFC is a machine, and machines never stop. It’s out of my hands at this point.

“And yes, needless to say, this sucks for me.”

Hopefully we get to see this fight finally come to fruition by the end of 2013, because the fans and both champions have been waiting long enough.

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