Understandably, he received some great tributes to his career from the MMA world but during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, he said that one message caught him off guard. Cruz’s proudest and most gratifying achievement was when he returned to the Octagon in 2016 and proved that ring rust wasn’t a universal rule.

Cruz revealed his injury occurred during grappling training, specifically drills focused on getting up from bottom position. While posturing on his elbow to explode upward, the force sent his shoulder "out the back," resulting in overwhelming pain and a lengthy recovery process.