Dominick Cruz may be out of action for 6 months

[INDYjon22]

Dominick Cruz will undergo long-delayed surgery on his left index finger this week in Chicago, the UFC bantamweight champion told ESPN.com Monday.

The top-ranked 135 pounder joins the list of sidelined UFC champions which includes featherweight ace Jose Aldo (neck injury) and top heavyweight Cain Velasquez (shoulder injury). Cruz outlined a time frame of 8-12 weeks before he is likely to return to training, with the possibility of a six month hiatus from competition.

“It could be six months, but I’m not planning on six months,” Cruz said.

The 25-year-old Alliance MMA product first sustained the injury last summer in training for his Aug. 18 rematch with Joseph Benavidez at WEC 50. Nonetheless, Cruz defended his WEC bantamweight title against the Urijah Faber pupil, earning a split decision after five rounds. Following the bout, Cruz was issued a 180-day medical suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to a potential fracture of his right hand.

Cruz put off surgery to put his belt on the line one final time at WEC’s last show, WEC 53, on Dec. 16. Prior to that bout with Scott Jorgensen, the champion made it public that, win or lose, he would be taking time off for hand surgery afterward. Cruz again retained his belt with a dominant 25-minute performance against the hard-nosed Boise State wrestler, after which he was crowned the inaugural UFC bantamweight champion.

Cruz holds a professional record of 17-1 and has won eight straight contests, including his last seven under the WEC banner. His only loss came in his WEC debut in March 2007, when he was submitted via guillotine choke by then-featherweight champion Urijah Faber. The “California Kid” has since dropped to bantamweight, and Cruz has been vocal in his desire for a rematch with Faber, who is scheduled to face Eddie Wineland at UFC 128 on March 19.

Well this could be a major hit to the UFC. It seems like all of the WEC champions who have come over in the merger are getting hurt. The only man who has remained uninjured is Anthony Pettis and his fight career is taking a hit right now anyways seeing as he can't compete for the Lightweight title until the whole Maynard/Edgar feud is finally resolved.

Hopefully, this injury will only keep Cruz out of action for the expected 8-12 months. He is an incredibly exciting fighter to watch and should be a good draw for the UFC. Speaking for myself, nothing in MMA is more exciting to me right now then the possibility of a Cruz vs. Faber rematch which will most likely happen if Faber can get past Eddie Wineland.

That said, if Cruz is in fact sidelined for 6 months what do you think should happen? Should an interim title be created? How should an interim title match be handled? I believe Wineland vs. Faber is the best idea if an interim title is decided upon, that fight just makes the most sense seeing as the winner will probably be next in line for Cruz anyways. It might not even be a bad idea to just avoid an interim title and let the winner of Faber/Wineland use the time Cruz is out to prepare for a title shot.

All in all I just wish Dominick Cruz a speedy recovery. He is a very exciting fighter to watch and it would be a shame to not see him make his UFC debut until sometime this summer.