UFC bantamweight Cruz won’t use past struggles as crutch

BOSTON — Through all the trials and tribulations of the past four years, former Ultimate Fighting Championship bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz never lost his sense of humor.

Just days before he's scheduled to fight T.J. Dillashaw tonight in the main event of UFC Fight Night 81 at TD Garden in an effort to win back the belt he never actually lost in the cage, Cruz showed up to Thursday's open workouts on crutches.

The gag wouldn't have been as funny had Cruz not been through one of the most frustrating stretches imaginable to get to this point.

Cruz last successfully defended his belt with a unanimous decision over Demetrious Johnson in October 2011. The title was eventually stripped from him, as he missed almost three years with a series of injuries, including a groin tear and two anterior cruciate ligament tears.

He made a triumphant return with a first-round knockout of Takeya Mizugaki in September 2014, only to endure a torn ACL in the other knee during training a few weeks later.

So it was easy to see why Cruz's joke caused at least momentary concern among the fans packed into the UFC Gym downtown on Thursday.

Much to their delight, Cruz shed the crutches and did a Willy Wonka-inspired front roll into the cage.

"It couldn't have gone better," Cruz said, laughing. "Willy Wonka was the man. I grew up watching it. He comes out on the cane, and he's dead serious and then does a forward roll.

"I figured that was appropriate."

Cruz drew a big positive reaction from the fans, particularly after the stunt. The enthusiasm signaled a sharp contrast to when he was largely viewed as a villain as the champion.

"I never expected to have this much support," he said. "I'll be honest. I think if you followed my career in the beginning, I never had this much support. Ever. So I don't take it for granted. I take the people very personally in my heart because I've not had that before.

"I think a lot of people can relate to me more now because everyone's got struggles in their life. I think a lot of times when you see a champion, you visualize how everything went right for them. That's hard to relate to because 90 percent of the world is struggling every single day. The economy is rough, times are tough. It's hard to make a living. It's hard to survive. Life isn't easy for anybody in this world, so when you see someone who was a champion lose everything and hit the bottom and have to fight to get back to the top, I think they can relate with that. That's made me one of them."

Cruz's struggles have almost exclusively come outside the cage. Once he's in the octagon, he is one of the best fighters in the organization.

He is 20-1 and has won 11 straight since losing his only fight, by submission against Urijah Faber in a World Extreme Cagefighting title bout in 2007.

Dillashaw wasn't even a pro fighter at the time. In fact, he made his official UFC debut two months after Cruz's win over Johnson.

Their careers are linked, however.

Dillashaw was a longtime member of Faber's Team Alpha Male in Sacramento, California. Cruz was considered a chief rival. One of Dillashaw's tasks was to simulate Cruz's unique style in the gym for Faber and Joseph Benavidez.

Though he downplays the similarities, Dillashaw got so good at it that he eventually employed many of Cruz's characteristics into his own style.

"He had to be me for a long time to prepare his teammates," Cruz said. "There's no ifs, ands or buts about it. He's said it. Now he doesn't want to admit it obviously because we're fighting, but he's said it before. Everybody has seen it.

"You have to look at what some of the best people are doing, and you've got to take from them if you want to be the best. It's been an honor for me to be able to add something to the sport of mixed martial arts, and I know I've done that. That's one thing I'll have in the history books for the rest of my life."

Reclaiming the belt he never lost and enjoying a second title reign also would be another nice addition to the legacy. Cruz is just happy to finally have the opportunity.

"It's kind of surreal," the 30-year-old said. "For the past three or four years, I've thought about it and dreamt about it. I've put it away and said, 'Keep the faith, and you'll be OK.' I kept the faith, and it worked out. It brought me here."

For Dillashaw, the fight provides the chance to put his stamp on the division. Though he has successfully defended the title twice since winning it from Renan Barao in May 2014, the specter of Cruz still has been hanging over his reign.

"It's going to help me," Dillashaw said of defeating the former champ. "He's got a good name behind him, and he's on TV all the time, so it will build my name up. I was asking for this fight back in April, and he got hurt again, so now I get the chance."

Cruz has other ideas. After more than four years, he hopes to again experience the joy of having a UFC belt wrapped around his waist.

"There's no words to describe what it's going to mean," he said. "I can't even tell you right now."

The main card, which includes a lightweight bout between Eddie Alvarez and former champ Anthony Pettis, airs on Fox Sports 1 at 7 p.m. today. Four fights from the preliminary card will air on the same network at 5.

The first five fights on the preliminary card will stream exclusively at 3 p.m. on the UFC's online subscription platform, Fight Pass.

— Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamilllvrj.