Dominic Reyes and Carlos Ulberg will get the chance to fight once more as their bout has now been rescheduled for UFC Fight Night in Atlantic City, set to take place on March 30th.
The Light Heavyweights were originally set to meet on the stacked UFC 297, which will see Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis battle it out for the Middleweight title in the headline bout, but Ulberg had to withdraw from the contest due an injury.
When the initial bout was pulled, Reyes took to social media to break the news. He said:
“Hey everyone, my fight Jan 20th has been called off due to my opponent’s ‘injury’. We are currently looking at options or rescheduling. I’ve had a great camp and I’m def frustrated but god has a plan.”
And reschedule, the UFC did. With both parties and teams agreeing to the date in Atlantic City, fans will only have to wait a little longer to see the return of Reyes and Ulberg.
The contest will see Reyes make his first return to the cage after a 16 month hiatus. After signing with the UFC in 2017, the 34-year-old went on a 6 fight tear with big victories over the likes of Jared Cannonier, and Chris Weidman. The run ultimately led to him facing pound for pound great, Jon Jones for the Light Heavyweight title at UFC 247. He dropped a razor close decision to Jones and ever since has struggled to get his career back on track.
2019 marks the last time Reyes had his hand raised in the Octagon as following the loss to Jones, his career turned 180 degrees, as he was stopped by Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka and Ryan Spann all in brutal fashion.
For Ulberg, the bout marks his first opportunity to add a notable scalp to his record. After earning his contract on the 2020 season of Contender Series, the New Zealand native got off to a tough start, with Kennedy Nzechukwu stopping him in the second round of his UFC debut. Since then, the City Kickboxing man has accumulated 5 solid victories in the last 2 years.
The bout has wet the appetite of many fans, wondering how Reyes will look after his lay off and if the bout has come too soon for Ulberg or if he could add Reyes’ name to his ever growing winning streak.
There is only one other fight confirmed for the March 30th card which will see two of the best female flyweights compete. Number 2 ranked Erin Blanchfield will face number 3 ranked Manon Fiorot.
