The Official 2025/2026 NBA Season - The New York Knicks Are The 2026 NBA CHAMPIONS!!!
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Nice
this nigga
Mavs' Anthony Davis Suffers Left Hand Injury Thursday
The injury occurred late in the fourth quarter of the loss at Utah. More at Hoops Rumors.www.hoopsrumors.com
I know man, I know
His continued years of injuries reminds me alot of Dominick Cruz in MMA. Robbed of many of his prime years in the sport, and finally retired last year. He's focused on color commentary and podcasting now, but still trains.
Count the number of injury issues below ...
String of injuries
In December 2011, Cruz was selected to coach The Ultimate Fighter: Live against opposing coach Urijah Faber.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-43"><span>[</span>43<span>]</span></a> The rubber match between Cruz and Faber was expected to take place on July 7, 2012, at UFC 148.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-44"><span>[</span>44<span>]</span></a> However, on May 7, 2012, Cruz was forced to pull out of the bout citing a torn ACL.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-45"><span>[</span>45<span>]</span></a>On December 3, 2012, it was revealed that Cruz underwent another ACL surgery after his body rejected one from a cadaver, with an expected recovery time of six to nine months.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-46"><span>[</span>46<span>]</span></a>
Cruz was scheduled to make his return on February 1, 2014, at UFC 169 in a unification bout with interim UFC Bantamweight Champion Renan Barão.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-47"><span>[</span>47<span>]</span></a> However, on a January 6 episode of SportsCenter, UFC president Dana White announced that Dominick Cruz had torn his groin and vacated the UFC Bantamweight Championship; White promoted Barão to undisputed UFC Bantamweight Champion, and announced that Barão's first unified title defense would be against Urijah Faber at UFC 169.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-48"><span>[</span>48<span>]</span></a>
After nearly three years away from the sport due to injuries, Cruz returned to the octagon on September 27, 2014, at UFC 178 where he faced Takeya Mizugaki.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-49"><span>[</span>49<span>]</span></a> Cruz won the fight by KO in the first round by punches after getting a takedown.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-50"><span>[</span>50<span>]</span></a> The win also earned Cruz his first Performance of the Night bonus award.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-51"><span>[</span>51<span>]</span></a> At the post-fight press conference, Dana White confirmed that Cruz's next fight would be for the Bantamweight Championship against T.J. Dillashaw.
Subsequently, on December 22, 2014, Cruz indicated that he had torn the ACL in his other knee, which sidelined him through 2015.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-52"><span>[</span>52<span>]</span></a>
Regaining the championship
After over four years since his last title fight, Cruz faced T.J. Dillashaw on January 17, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 81. He regained the title with a split-decision victory.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-53"><span>[</span>53<span>]</span></a> Both participants were awarded Fight of the Night honors.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-54"><span>[</span>54<span>]</span></a> Many have cited the return and victory as one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-fs-10"><span>[</span>10<span>]</span></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-yahoo-11"><span>[</span>11<span>]</span></a>To complete their trilogy, Cruz defended his title against Urijah Faber on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199. He won the fight by unanimous decision.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-55"><span>[</span>55<span>]</span></a>
Injuries and losing the title
Cruz faced Cody Garbrandt on December 30, 2016, at UFC 207. After getting knocked down multiple times during the bout, Cruz lost the bout by unanimous decision.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-56"><span>[</span>56<span>]</span></a> This was the first loss for Cruz in nearly 10 years.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-57"><span>[</span>57<span>]</span></a> Months later, on The Joe Rogan Experience, Cruz revealed that he was plagued by plantar fascia tendinitis throughout training camp that made it difficult for him to walk at times.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-58"><span>[</span>58<span>]</span></a>Cruz was expected to face Jimmie Rivera on December 30, 2017, at UFC 219, however, on November 8, it was reported Cruz suffered a broken arm and he was forced to pull from the card.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-59"><span>[</span>59<span>]</span></a>
Cruz was expected to face John Lineker on January 26, 2019 at UFC 233.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-60"><span>[</span>60<span>]</span></a> It was reported on December 11, 2018 that Cruz injured his shoulder and pulled out of the fight.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-61"><span>[</span>61<span>]</span></a> Subsequently, Cruz indicated that he expects to be out of competition for another year.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-62"><span>[</span>62<span>]</span></a>
After more than a 3 year-layoff, Cruz replaced José Aldo and faced Henry Cejudo for the UFC Bantamweight Championship on May 9, 2020 at UFC 249.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-63"><span>[</span>63<span>]</span></a> Cruz lost via TKO in the second round.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-NYT-64"><span>[</span>64<span>]</span></a>
Cruz faced Casey Kenney on March 6, 2021 at UFC 259.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-65"><span>[</span>65<span>]</span></a> He won the fight via split decision.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-66"><span>[</span>66<span>]</span></a>
Cruz faced Pedro Munhoz on December 11, 2021 at UFC 269.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-67"><span>[</span>67<span>]</span></a> He won the fight via unanimous decision despite getting knocked down twice during the opening round.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-68"><span>[</span>68<span>]</span></a> The bout earned the Fight of the Night bonus award.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-UFC269bonus-69"><span>[</span>69<span>]</span></a>
Cruz faced Marlon Vera on August 13, 2022 at UFC on ESPN 41.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-Vera_vs_Cruz-70"><span>[</span>70<span>]</span></a> He lost the fight by knockout via a head kick in round four.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-71"><span>[</span>71<span>]</span></a>
Retirement
After over a two year absence, Cruz was scheduled to face Rob Font on February 22, 2025, at UFC Fight Night 252.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-72"><span>[</span>72<span>]</span></a> However, Cruz withdrew from the fight due to a shoulder injury, and announced his retirement from competition.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-73"><span>[</span>73<span>]</span></a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominick_Cruz#cite_note-74"><span>[</span>74<span>]</span></a>
Fuck!
Fuck!
What's crazy too is that he reached champ status in BOTH the WEC and UFC, and still had several multi-year gaps in his career during that time.
His style relied on alot of movement and change of motion, etc. Start and stop ... stop and go ... unique angles.
I remember him saying his feet were so fucked up at one point he was getting Botox injections in them to help alleviate the plantar fasciatis. And he's a wealth of knowledge in the sport. I listened to an interview of his on the Heavy Hands podcast back in the 2010s and he was breaking down striking like a science. I felt like I was getting smarter just listening to the mofo break it down, and I've never trained in boxing or mma, lol.
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