UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz is on the mend
and making progress.
The last time he fought was against Demetrious Johnson in
October 2011.
Cruz was scheduled to fight a rubber match against Urijah
Faber at UFC 148 in July of 2012. While the two were coaching season 15 of The
Ultimate Fighter, Cruz tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during
training.
He underwent surgery that utilized the ligament from a
cadaver to repair his ACL. His body, unfortunately, rejected the foreign
ligament, so he had to undergo a second surgery in late 2012.
Now, half a year later, he has finally been cleared to
begin sparring again.
“Leaving LA now,n doc just cleared me to start
boxing(sparring):)-one step at a time!C u wit some new tricks,” Cruz tweeted on
Tuesday.
That’s far from news of a date for his return to the
Octagon, but it is welcome news nonetheless, especially considering UFC interim
bantamweight champion Renan Barão has just taken up his own spot on the bench.
Barão was slated to face Eddie Wineland in the UFC 161
main event on June 15 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, but was forced out of the
bout due to an injured right foot, leaving the UFC with both of its
bantamweight champions unable to fight.
Hopefully, Cruz’s clearance to spar is a signal that
he’ll be returning to action sooner rather than later. (Source)
