Dominick Cruz: UFC's fragile champion

Dominick Cruz completed the most inspirational comeback story in UFC history on the weekend, defeating TJ Dillashaw to re-capture the bantamweight championship.

After five rounds of fast and furious action, Cruz was showing the effects of a hard-fought championship bout. He had a visibly damaged face, a split lip, a battered leg and an injured foot.

The 30-year-old, who had been sidelined for most of the past four years after a trio of knee surgeries, had a pretty good poker face but it was clear Cruz was a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest during the dying minutes.

“I had some problems with my left foot that I came in with,” a forthright Cruz said following the win “I had to tough it out. It just got really bad in the fifth round.”

At the post-fight press conference, the newly minted champion suggested that the injury won’t force him to be benched for an extended period, but nobody could blame UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby if he was sweating bullets at the sight of a hobbling Cruz.

After all, in his first reign with the championship, it felt like Cruz was made of glass.

The California-based fighter held the title for 1117 days. And in that stretch, Cruz punched his ticket and went to work only twice.

Nobody could deny that Cruz was an outstanding champion, but most of his title run was spent on the operating table or in rehabilitation.

It got so bad that after his third ACL surgery – two on the left leg, one on the right – UFC decision makers were forced to strip Cruz of the title.

As we enter the fleet-footed wrestle boxer’s second reign as 135-pound king, UFC fans better cross their fingers and toes that history doesn’t repeat itself.

Provided that Cruz is fit, healthy, and ready to defend his title again this year, there are a number of interesting matches for ‘The Dominator’.

At the top of the list has to be the former champion. A heartbroken Dillashaw called for a rematch following the fight, arguing that his aggressive fighting style was more effective than the defensive-minded Cruz’s counter punching.

MMA Decisions, the leading source for judging-related data, polled 23 media members following the championship fight. Twelve scored it for Cruz, ten had it for Dillashaw, and one considered it a tie.

While most frown upon automatic rematches being handed out so freely, Dillashaw has a pretty strong case for a second crack at the most accomplished bantamweight in history if they choose to go that route.

Following the event, Cruz’s old rival, Urijah Faber, also threw his name into the hat as a potential challenger for the title.

From a monetary perspective, Cruz versus Faber III is one of the biggest fights that UFC matchmakers could book at 135 pounds. The problem is, in 2016 ‘The California Kid’ is actually a middle-aged man, who has been on a steady decline over the past two years.

The more intriguing matches for Cruz are with the fresh blood at bantamweight. Fighters like Aljamain Sterling, the number-five ranked contender, are the key. He’s a ridiculously good athlete and is fast developing an elite skill set training with championship coaches Matt Serra and Ray Longo.

And you can’t forget the savages like Thomas Almeida. The 24-year-old has a perfect 20-0 record, a black belt in Muay Thai, and a highlight reel jam-packed with horrifying knockouts.

These are the match-ups that could turn bantamweight into a marquee division, not just the garbage bin of the lighter weight classes.

But again, that all hinges on Cruz spending more time in the cage than on the operating table in the 2016 season.