'Dark times': Dominick Cruz had to overcome mental hurdles for UFC return

The endless hours of rehabs. The starts and stops. The setbacks.

The physical nature of Dominick Cruz's comeback cannot be understated. The former UFC bantamweight champion needed two ACL surgeries and, right when he was on the verge of returning, tore his groin. Cruz had to work incredibly hard to strengthen the lower half of his body again, especially since his legs are the key to his greatest strength as a fighter: mobility.

But Cruz's toughest battle over the last three years might not have been inside a gym or doctor's office. It was probably the one inside his own head.

"I hit my dark, low places," Cruz told FOX Sports. "It was the hardest times of my life. People left my side that I thought cared. They didn't make me stronger. They weren’t helping me through. They were more worried about themselves. It caused me to lose relationships and friends. Family members didn't understand.

"It's been crazy."

We won't truly know if Cruz is back to his old, elite self until Saturday night when he steps into the Octagon against Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 178 (FOX Sports 1 prelims, 8 p.m. ET). In truth, he won't know either. Cruz has come to grips with that. It was letting go — of the anger of the UFC taking away his belt, of the thoughts of maybe never being able to return — that allowed Cruz to get where he is now.

"The definition of depression is obsession with oneself," Cruz said. "That means everything is your fault when you're in a depression. You get run over by a car, it's your fault. The best thing to get out of that mode is to help other people. These are the things I had to learn to be able to make this step."

Cruz (19-1) has not fought since October 2011. To put in perspective just how long ago that is in MMA years, his last bout was broadcast on Versus. The UFC has had a television deal with FOX Sports for three years now. Cruz's opponent then was Demetrious Johnson, who has been the UFC's flyweight champion for two years.

What Cruz is doing is rather unprecedented in the UFC. Coming back from an ACL tear is difficult enough. But the Alliance MMA product then had his body reject the cadaver ligament surgeons used as a replacement. He would need another ACL surgery about six months after the first. At that point, he was only about three months away from being able to fight and Cruz had to start again from square one.

"That was the freak accident that you pray doesn't happen," he said.

Dominick Cruz hits the scale before UFC 178 on Friday.

After another year of rehab following the second surgery, Cruz, belt still in tow, was ready to unify the bantamweight title with interim champion Renan Barao back in February at UFC 169. Less than a month before that fight was supposed to go down, UFC president Dana White announced that Cruz was injured again. This time it was a groin tear. The fight was off and Barao was given the title outright.

Cruz was understandably devastated. He had to cope with losing his title without ever being defeated as champion.

"Nobody owns the title, including me," Cruz said. "It's not owned by anybody. That's a false hope. As soon as you get possessive is when it slaps you upside the head and you lose it."

Barao lost the belt to T.J. Dillashaw in May. Cruz has made it no secret that he wants a shot at the gold if he beats Mizugaki on Saturday. Who could make a case better than him, after all?

"There's not really an 'if' — it's a 'when,'" Cruz said. "When I go out there and get this win against Mizugaki, I would like a title shot."

There's some confidence from Cruz. It was hard to come by at points during the last three years. But it has returned. So has he.

"The world is won by the man who lets it go," Cruz said. "I had to just let it go. With that, I gained some power back."