On September 27th at UFC 178 former UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz will be making his long-awaited return to the UFC octagon. Cruz has been out of action since October of 2011, although he has been booked to fight multiple times since, he has been unable to due to multiple ACL tears and most recently, a groin tear. If Cruz does makes his return at UFC 178 it will be just days away from being a three year layoff.
Cruz is currently scheduled to take on fifth ranked Bantamweight Takeya Mizugaki. Mizugaki is currently riding a five-fight win streak with all five wins coming via decision; a win over Cruz could very well put Mizugaki in a title fight.
Cruz, on the other hand, has won ten straight fights since losing to Urijah Faber in 2007, a loss he would later avenge in 2011. This match up is the perfect test for Cruz to see if he’s 100 percent healthy and ready to be in the octagon. If Cruz is able to beat Mizugaki and look good doing it, he would likely fight for the belt he had to vacate earlier this year in his next appearance.
While it’s easy to be skeptical about Cruz making his return, let’s just be optimistic that he will make it to the octagon on September 27th.