Dominick Cruz: “It's taken years for me to believe in myself.”

For some fighters, suffering a loss after a solid run as remaining unbeaten could be disheartening. Add the unique situation of the bout being the biggest of your career, having a significant title on the line, and the defeat coming less than two minutes into the first round, and the effects might even be detrimental to a competitor’s confidence.

However, UFC 135-pound champion Dominick Cruz is from average, and true to form his first and only stumble in the cage served a far more positive purpose than might normally be the case.

“It sounds strange, but a March 2007 loss to Urijah Faber was the career turning point for me, and my impetus to work harder and truly become great at this sport,” Cruz wrote on his NBCSports blog. “That was the moment I knew I could get somewhere and be somebody as a Mixed Martial Artist. That loss made me never want to lose again.”

“After that I fight I came to the realization that if I had the right coaching and worked on my grappling the way I needed to, I would only come back from that defeat a better fighter,” Cruz continued. “I now had lessons to learn from and I set my mind on using that defeat as the turning point. I was only going to shoot for greatness from that point on.”

Cruz successfully defended his bantamweight belt against Faber in their rematch this past July at UFC 132, winning a Unanimous Decision after a solid showing against “The California Kid”.

Faber vs. Cruz Caps Off Fantastic Night of Fights

As satisfying as the victory was for Cruz it also was far from perfect in his mind, lighting yet another fire in his belly to keep getting better.

“Sometimes you need to maintain a clear head in a fight and try to think in a calculated manner. Unfortunately, because of the type of fight we were involved in, and because it meant so much to me, I wasn’t able to do that against Faber. I wasn’t as composed as I normally am, and that probably created a few openings for him throughout the twenty-five minutes we shared.”

Though certainly pleased with certain aspects of his performance, Cruz finished by revealing he is especially tough on himself but truly feels in his heart he is the division’s top dog.

“I am my own biggest critic, and it’s taken years for me to believe in myself and reach a point where I feel I am the best in the world,” Cruz admitted. “I am harder on myself than anybody else ever could be. I needed that win over Faber to validate my claims and to prove to myself once and for all that I truly am the #1 bantamweight in the world.”

His next title-defense will come this weekend when he faces Demetrious Johnson in the main event of UFC Live 6. The card also features Charlie Brenneman vs. Anthony Johnson, Pat Barry vs. Stefan Struve, and Matt Wiman vs. Mac Danzig.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC