Dominick Cruz will make a return inside the octagon at the UFC 178. He is off to face Takeya Mizugaki after three years. The former UFC bantamweight champion last fight was in the fall of 2011. His return fight is scheduled on September 27.
According to Cruz "I'm excited to finally be back. It's been a long time coming, but I feel great and I'm already training hard. Mizugaki is tough and he's been on a roll, but I'm ready to get back in there and prove that I'm the best bantamweight in the world."
Mizugaki's record has won five straight bouts while Cruz has won ten straight bouts before he decided lie low in October 2011. His last fight was against Demetrious Johnson where he defended his bantamweight belt.
Cruz had had a torn ACL and had a surgery but needed a second ACL surgery which delayed his recovery. He needed the second ACL surgery as his body rejected one from a cadaver. He was supposed to return last year against Renan Barao but had to pull out due to an injury in his quad and groin. Barao lost the title belt to TJ Dillashaw.
Mizugaki hailed from Kanagawa, Japan and made his debut with an unforgettable battle against Miguel Torres in 2009. His last fight he was on was a decision over Francisco Rivera at UFC 173. It was because of this fight that he was able to enter as the top five fighter on official bantamweight rankings.
Eversince Mizugaki transferred from World Extreme Cagefighting to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2011, he has compiled a 7-2 record inside the Octagon.
The Mexican-American mixed martial artist, Cruz, has ranked top ten in the UFC bantamweight rankings.
According to UFC officials, the 28 year old Cruz's return will likely appear on the pay-per-view portion of the UFC 178. The fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson is scheduled to headline the card.
A lot of UFC fans are looking forward to seeing Cruz fight back in the octagon. He has been heralded as a competitive MMA fighter and now that he has fully recovered, fans will see how his absence has changed his performance.
