It had been nearly 1,700 days since Dominick Reyes last tasted victory in the UFC, but the former title challenger snapped a four-year and four-fight losing streak in emphatic fashion at UFC Louisville this past weekend.
“I just stayed the course, I never gave up on myself, I just kept fighting, kept training, kept getting better, and here I am back in the winner’s circle,” Reyes said during an appearance on The MMA Hour. “Two-year layoff from fighting and it’s like I never left.”
Reyes knocked out Dustin Jacoby in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night co-main event using a series of piston left hands, his best striking technique, to put away a former Glory kickboxer.
The win came as a huge relief for multiple reasons. In addition to his drought, Reyes had two separate bookings earlier this year fall apart – one in January and again in March, both against Carlos Ulberg – after the 34-year-old was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis.
He explained it was once he finally came off blood thinners and was able to resume training that he regained the confidence that he’d be able to get back to 100 per cent of his abilities. Reyes also said he had labrum surgery early in 2023 that kept him from training fully for six months last year.
“It has not been easy at all,” Reyes said. “It’s not easy for anyone in America right now but you gotta keep going. … I love fighting. It’s not who I am but I love it. Fighting, winning, competing at the highest level, it’s been my lifelong journey. I’m not just going to give up on it because a few things happened.”
Reyes began his professional mixed martial arts career 12-0 before facing Jon Jones at UFC 247 in February of 2020 for the light-heavyweight title. He lost a unanimous decision that night in a fight many believed Reyes had won before proceeding to lose three consecutive bouts by knockout – two to former 205-pound champs Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka and the other to Ryan Spann – before his comeback bout versus Jacoby.
He said he shared many of the same concerns his fan base did like whether his chin could still take a good shot and whether he still had the ability to finish top competition. Reyes answered both questions against Jacoby.
“You really couldn’t ask for a better night,” he said.
Reyes will maintain a spot in the LHW rankings thanks to his first knockout win since he stopped former middleweight champion Chris Weidman in October of 2019.
The 205-pound division is relatively wide open and rather compelling midway through 2024, and Reyes’s comeback performance adds another big name and high-ceiling talent back into the mix.
Reyes has seemingly found a new lease on life in some respects, or at least a newfound perspective he has also incorporated into his fighting life.
“This sport is so unforgiving and one win, one loss, you know you lose and all of a sudden, ‘Put that guy in the grave, he’s done,’ and one win and all of a sudden, ‘Oh, title run,’ so just enjoy the time you have, just enjoy every fight, every moment, be kind to everybody you interact with, treat people with respect and dignity, let’s make this world a better place, man. Stop trying to take from each other and stop trying to just be shitty. Love each other.”
In addition to spreading love, which he says is his purpose in life right now, Reyes said he plans on meeting with his team of coaches to map out the rest of his 2024. He said he wants to fight once more this year, ideally at UFC 306 at The Sphere or any other notable card that takes place in front of a crowd.
As Reyes described some of the soul-searching he did during his losing streak and layoff, he also said he’s at a good place in his life right now and that he’s not overly concerned about where exactly he fits into the current 205-pound title picture.
“I don’t know. I’m not even thinking about that,” Reyes said. “I’m just enjoying this and then the next fight, and then the next fight and then we’ll see. It’s one of those things where there’s no point in reaching to that right now. I mean, that’s always the goal to be champion. Always the goal. I’m not here to just fight and that’s it. I’m here to be the best, but I’m not there yet, so let’s continue to win, continue to put it together and then we’ll get there.”