Dominick Reyes got out of the light heavy depths.
In 2020, Jon Jones defended his UFC Light heavyweight title for the last time. The man against him was Reyes, who sadly lost a controversial sharing decision in a fight, many believe that he should have won. This quasi-accident with grandeur was the first loss of career in Reyes and died in a scrap of apparently endless losers which extended over four years, the last three defeats having been struck in brutal knoccouts.
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But now? While we sit down here today, Reyes, 35, makes a sequence of victories of three fights resorging after a devastating stop by Nikita Krylov at the UFC 314 on Saturday in Miami.
“I was heavily in a flow on Saturday evening,” said Reyes “The Ariel Helwani Show”. “As soon as I entered the octagon, there was a point where I looked at the camera just before Nikita started to go out. I said to myself:” Yeah “. I felt it.
“I see one more (fight) this year, maybe October, maybe a little earlier-but then in 20026, (I am) watching a title shot. This is the ideal situation. Otherwise? Continue to fight. I'm here. I'm not going any early.”
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Reyes' impressive career renewal began in 2024 after overcoming an almost deadly blood clot. He missed the previous year to recover and get back in shape, but all the systems have been taking place since, as if he was back on this undefeated 12-0 race, his career began before Jones' fight.
His victories on Dustin Jacoby and Anthony Smith before the UFC 314 were impressive in its own right. Defeating Krylov in fashion that Reyes did, however, was something that had never happened before in the 39 previous Krylov's professional battles, which has included two different UFC races since 2013.
Aggressive from the start, Reyes finally spread Krylov with a common left hand in the middle of the tour of the opening.
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“If you look at his images and see his fights, he does it with each fight,” said Reyes. “But he has such a formidable chin and an incredible cardio, he is in an incredible form, that he takes it and continues and ends up falling. I think the biggest difference between me and everyone, I say that every time, it's my athletics, guy. He could not follow my angles, my job.
“People say (KO) was exactly like Conor (McGregor against Jose Aldo), but Conor was 145 pounds,” he continued. “I am a 205 pounds that does that. You have to put this in perspective there. I was surprised that he went down because he was never knocked out before, but I was not surprised to have done it because we worked there. He is a very aggressive fighter and he is advancing.”
Dominick Reyes is getting closer to his third Light UFC heavyweight title after the UFC 314. (Photo by Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
(Megan Briggs via Getty Images)
Although Jones' controversy is the fight for the title of Reyes's career, it is easy to forget “The Devastator” followed with another attempt. After Jones canceled the belt in 2020, Reyes and Jan Blachowicz faced gold on the line the same year. Reyes failed again, this time due to a KO in the second round.
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Reyes hopes that the third time will be charm. After the adversity he struggled, whether it was a title stroke this year or the next one, it is the “champion” box that he wants to check more than any other.
“All my goal with my entire UFC career is to be simply cemented in rafters as one of the big ones,” said Reyes. “One of the great fighters who presented themselves every night and gave everything, and put on performances, and had incredible skills that no one could deny. I have the impression of being well on the right track. Obviously, a solid title will in my eyes, but all my goal is to be one of the big ones and to be a champion. I entered this sport to be one of the best in the world.
“I got closer, guy. Really, very close. I touched the crown, but I couldn't completely remove. So I'm here, and I work to get it and solidify my name in the chevrons.”
