Through all the heartache, all the setbacks, all the disappointments, Dominick Cruz never stopped believing in himself.
The San Diego native never lost his UFC bantamweight champion in the cage and had never even been defeated at 135 pounds.
But when everyone else wrote him off, through injuries to both knees and a groin injury, Cruz never gave up hope.
And that self-belief paid off in spades on Sunday night in Boston, as he returned from his latest absence and engaged T.J. Dillashaw in a magnificent battle in the main event of UFC Fight Night 81.