Issue 187

January 2020

Three wins in twelve months have put Dominick Reyes in title contention and now he believes he’s the man to dethrone the champion, Jon Jones.

It’s taken him six fights and two and a half years, but undefeated light heavyweight Dominick Reyes is on the verge of his first-ever UFC title shot.

After signing for the UFC in early 2017, Reyes has put together an impressive run of form with three first-round finishes in his first three bouts. With wins over Joachim Christensen, Jeremy Kimball and then Jared Cannonier, Reyes then got the opportunity of a lifetime to fight on the UFC’s biggest fight card of all time, UFC 229, headlined by Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov.

On the night, Reyes didn’t manage to finish his opponent, Ovince Saint Preux, but his performance showed that under the brightest lights he could get the job done against an experienced former title challenger. That win opened the door to face another former belt challenger Volkan Oezdemir in March 2019, and after a closely fought three rounds Reyes got his hand raised via a split decision.

With his record now at 11-0, Reyes got the opportunity to prove his title credentials by taking on former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman at UFC on ESPN 6. It was the 29-year-old’s first-ever main event slot but he showed no signs of pressure and finished the fight with just one minute and 43 seconds on the clock.

It was a night that Reyes will never forget and speaking recently to Fighters Only, he described how he never dared to imagine it all going so well.

“That was absolutely the biggest win of my career so far,” Reyes said. “Life is great, man. Going into the fight this was supposed to be a huge challenge and I prepared so hard for it. It was also my first time headlining in the UFC so there were other factors involved during fight week that I hadn’t had to deal with previously. When the fight actually happened, things went better than I could’ve ever imagined. I honestly couldn’t have dreamed it would go that well.”

With fewer than a dozen bouts on his record prior to the fight with Weidman, Reyes could have been forgiven for wanting further experience before jumping in the cage with a former champion. Reyes though, said he never doubted for a minute that it was the right fight to take and that he was only focused on keeping his momentum going. 

“As soon as I got the name ‘Weidman’ I was down [to fight],” Reyes recalled. “I knew I needed a bigger name to get me closer to title contention so Weidman fitted the bill perfectly. I was very confident though. All the way through from fight week to the day of the fight, I felt like I was going to get it done. I just wanted to get back in there and get fighting again. At the moment I just feel like nothing can stop me.

“Being in Boston at the time of year was beautiful,” he continued. “I was just happy and enjoying the city and I didn’t feel the pressure of the situation. I knew it was Dana’s hometown and that he always wants the show to go really well there, but I honestly didn’t feel any extra stress. I just love fighting man. It comes naturally.”

Come fight night, Reyes couldn’t have asked for things to go better. Weidman secured a takedown in the early stages, but Reyes quickly managed to get back to his feet avoiding any damage. After defending another takedown attempt against the cage, Reyes then countered Weidman on the feet with a beautiful left hand and finished the fight inside two minutes in almost perfect fashion.

“I executed the game plan pretty flawlessly,” Reyes said. “I knew he was going to come out and shoot and I knew that it was going to be really hard to avoid. He’s a multiple-time All-American, he won the Abu Dhabi trials so he’s no joke grappling. I thought I would probably get taken down, but I was just prepared to keep getting back up. I just knew I had to stay calm, execute on the techniques and basically wear him out.

“When I got the breaks and space and I had to make him pay and I did that,” Reyes said. “My boxing and striking were so much better than his so that was my game plan; stuff the takedowns and hurt him on the feet. It went according to plan and I finished him quicker than I expected. I was always ready for five tough rounds so to do it with my first punch was a little unexpected.” 

The win over Weidman now puts Reyes at the front of the queue for a shot at champion Jon Jones. With all the fighters ranked ahead of him having fought the champion before, Reyes presents one of the very few fresh matchups for the UFC matchmakers to put together. Reyes himself believes he’s done enough to earn the shot and thinks he’s the only man for the job.

“I know exactly who I am now,” Reyes said. “People had questions about whether I belonged at that level, or whether I had done enough to be in the title picture, but I know who I am and what I’m about. I know I’m where I’m supposed to be and these are the things I’m supposed to be feeling. That fight just solidified for me that I belong at the top level.”

“I have to get the next shot [at the title],” he continued. “I’ve been sat at number four [in the rankings] for two fights now and all the guys in front of me have been beaten by Jones already. It’s my turn now and we’re going to fight. I deserve this shot out of everyone and I’ve shown that I’m the one that deserves to face Jones next.”

With the prospect of fighting Jones a realistic possibility in the early new year, Reyes has already started preparing himself mentally for his first-ever UFC title shot. With the sole disqualification loss to one side, Jones remains unbeaten in MMA and is widely considered the greatest of all time to grace the Octagon. It’s a challenge that Reyes says he’s more than ready to take on and he believes he has the right tools to be the first man to hand Jones his first proper defeat.

“I feel amazing going into that fight,” Reyes said. “This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing facing him. You only go to the Super Bowl for the first time once and this is my time. I’ll bring the same energy that I do to all of my fights. I’m super confident man. He’s never been beaten and I’ve never beaten. There’s nothing new for me to fear here.

“I’m the guy [to beat him],” he continued. “It’s my time. Everything so far in my career has gone exactly the way I’ve wanted it to go and I see nothing new here. It’s just another fight and I have absolutely nothing to lose. I have my undefeated record to lose, but that’s been the worst-case scenario in each of my previous fights. I’ve everything to gain. No inhibitions. Balls to the wall. Nothing to lose.”

Jones has rarely looked in trouble during his time in the UFC, though Reyes believes he’s seen enough to give him faith that he can spring an upset. Having only made his professional debut at the time Jones was 20-1 with seven UFC title defenses, Reyes grew up in the sport knowing that he was the man to both emulate and target. Jones has always been on Reyes’ radar.

“I’ve seen quite a few things in his game [that I can exploit],” Reyes said. “Jon has literally been the champion since I started training MMA. I’ve literally been watching him the whole time. I took things from him and I was inspired by him early in his career. I took some of his creativity and some of the non-conventional things that he did and applied them to my own game.

“I’m a true southpaw and I don’t know how many of them he’s fought,” he continued. “My boxing is better than his and anyone who knows what they’re talking about can see that. He is more dynamic and he does know how to pace himself for five rounds, but every champion knows that and I just fought a champion and beat him. I know I can do it. We’re both going to making adjustments in the cage on fight night and it’s about who can make the better adjustments.”

When it comes to beating Jones, many have tried, and all have failed. The prospect of landing one big shot is a chance that every man who has ever faced Jones has entered the cage with, but none have been able to find it. According to Reyes, getting the job done with a single shot isn’t the right way to approach fighting Jones and he says he will be taking a very different approach. 

“My game plan is going to try and be to catch Jon Jones,” Reyes said. “Many people have tried that and they’ve all failed. I’m not going to get a lucky punch. I’m going to beat him everywhere and I’m going to leave no doubt in anyone’s mind about who the better fighter is. I’m going to beat him so badly that no one even bothers talking about a rematch. That’s what I’ll do. He’s Jon Jones and I know who he is. But he doesn’t know that much about me and there isn’t much tape. He has no clue what I’m about.”

With the likes of Daniel Cormier, Anthony Johnson and Alexander Gustafsson all moving on in recent times, the UFC light heavyweight division has no shortage of talent moving up through the ranks. Reyes for the minute spearheads the charge for the next generation, but he’s aware in years to come that he’s going to have no shortage of challengers at the top of the 205-pound division.

“There’s a lot of guys coming up in this division who are going to be the future,” Reyes said. “Alonzo Menifield, Paul Craig, Aleksandar Rakic, Volkan Oezdemir, Jimmy Crute, Khalil Rountree, Tyson Pedro, there’s so many. They all got here before me and lost. That’s why I’m in this position. They were getting pushed before, but they beat each other. Everybody forgot about them for a bit, but they will rise to the top of the division again. Ryan Spann is another guy. There are a lot of them coming up, but they need to put a run together like I did.”

As Reyes nears his first UFC title shot he takes a step closer to achieving a dream that he’s had since very early on his career. Having a UFC title wrapped around his waist would be a dream come true and would be a moment that he’s been relishing even before he turned professional. 

“I wanted to be the UFC champion after my second amateur fight,” Reyes said. “My first fight was just me kinda stepping in the waters and getting a feel for it, but by my second fight. 

“I realized that this was something I truly loved and something I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” he added. “From that moment onwards I wanted to be the best in the world. I was 23 years old then so that was six years ago now.”

As is the case with many fighters, the start of Reyes’ professional career didn’t coincide with him being able to train full-time. Reyes was still holding down a day job at the start of his time in the UFC and it was only recently that he was able to turn his full attention to his MMA career.

“When I got out of university I worked construction and I still did that during my amateur career,” Reyes said. “I then got an IT job in my local high school which I kept until I signed my second UFC contract. It wasn’t easy, man. Keeping a job and trying to train full-time.

“People don’t understand and they think when you get to the UFC that you’ve made it,” he continued. “I literally couldn’t take a girl on a date for two years because I didn’t have enough money. S*** wasn’t easy. I’ve struggled and suffered, but I’ve had to do that. You have to go through that pain to get here.”

All Reyes’ hardships and sacrifices are now looking like they’re going to be worth it, though. With a UFC title shot in his sights, achieving a major career goal is just one win away. Winning the UFC light heavyweight title isn’t where Reyes’ ambitions end though. Remaining at the top of the game and leaving a lasting legacy are just as important to him. Doing it with a smile on his face though will forever remain the most significant thing of all.

“I call this full circle now,” Reyes said. “I’ve gone through all the pains and struggles and now I get rewarded with this opportunity. This is what all the sacrifices are about. My ultimate goal is to stay champion until I retire. That’s a hard goal to have, but it’s possible.

“I also want to show people that anything is possible and I want to inspire them,” he continued. “I want to be in the UFC Hall of Fame and I want to have multiple organizations that support. Ultimately I just want to be happy. That’s the most important thing in life. Nothing will make me happier than having that UFC title over my shoulder.”