Dominick Cruz Says Conor McGregor's Injury Will Be Blessing In Disguise

Dominick Cruz, newly minted UFC Hall of Famer, is sending a powerful message to Conor McGregor as the MMA superstar deals with the fallout from the devastating injury ... and it's not the usual BS "get well soon" pep talk.

Cruz, the former bantamweight champ, who himself suffered multiple serious injuries as he attempted to return to his championship form, spent a few minutes chatting with TMZ Sports ... and he put things into perspective for The Notorious.

"I think that at the end, he's going to learn that this happened for him, not to him. And it's going to make him a better man if he chooses the direction that God wants him to," Dom told us.

Cruz, who battled through a long, brutal stretch of injuries -- including blowing out his knee twice -- says the real battle isn't inside the Octagon.

"As somebody who hurt myself three years in a row, back to back to back, that's where I learned the most that it wasn't the training or my body that was the problem. It was my mind, my heart, and my soul that were creating the physical problems in my body," Dominick explained.

"And I think Conor is going to learn that. There's no other way to learn it except to go through it."

Cruz says he hopes McGregor doesn't have a full-blown ACL tear, but no matter what it ultimately is ... Conor can overcome the obstacle, and it has little to do with his abilities as a fighter.

"Once I got my things sorted in regular life, which is 90% of what we live," Dom said ... "fighting becomes the gift, the cherry on top. It's not the thing you need to save you."

We also talked to Cruz about his big weekend -- where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame -- an honor that was incredibly special for the UFC legend.