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Dominick Reyes has dug himself out of the light heavyweight depths.
Back in 2020, Jon Jones defended his UFC light heavyweight title for the final time. The man up against him was Reyes, who infamously lost a controversial split decision in a fight many believe he should've won. That near-miss with greatness was Reyes' first career loss and spiraled into a seemingly endless losing skid that stretched across four years, with the last three losses coming in brutal knockouts.
But now? As we sit here today, Reyes, 35, rides a resurgent three-fight win streak after a earning a devastating first-round stoppage of Nikita Krylov at UFC 314 this past Saturday in Miami.
"I was heavily in a flow state on Saturday night," Reyes said on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show. "As soon as I walked in the Octagon, there was a point where I looked at the camera right before Nikita started walking out. I was like, 'Yep.' I felt it. Let's go.
"I see one more [fight] this year, maybe October, maybe a little sooner — but then going into '26, [I'm] looking at a title shot. That's the ideal situation. If not? Keep fighting. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
Reyes' impressive career revival began in 2024 after he overcame a near-fatal battle with a blood clot. He missed all of the previous year to recover and get back in shape, but it's been all systems go ever since, as if he's back on that undefeated 12-0 run his career started with before the Jones fight.
His wins over Dustin Jacoby and Anthony Smith prior to UFC 314 were impressive in their own right. Defeating Krylov in the fashion Reyes did, however, was something that'd never happened before in Krylov's previous 39 professional fights, which includes two different UFC runs since 2013.
Aggressive from the start, Reyes ultimately floored Krylov with a concussive left-hand bomb at the midway point of the opening round.
"If you look at his footage and see his fights, he does that every single fight," Reyes said. "But he has such a tremendous chin and amazing cardio, he's in amazing shape, that he just takes it and keeps going and ends up taking you down. I think the biggest difference between me and everybody else, I say this every time, it's my athleticism, man. He couldn't keep up with my angles, my footwork.
"People say [the knockout] was exactly like Conor [McGregor vs. Jose Aldo], but Conor was 145 pounds," he continued. "I'm a 205-pounder doing that. You've got to put that into perspective there. I was surprised that he went down because he's never been knocked out before, but I wasn't surprised I did it because we've been working on that. He's a very aggressive fighter and he pushes forward."
Dominick Reyes is closing in on his second-career UFC light heavyweight title shot after UFC 314. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Megan Briggs via Getty Images
Although the Jones controversy is the title fight remembered most in Reyes' career, it's easy to forget "The Devastator" followed it up with another attempt. After Jones vacated the belt in 2020, Reyes and Jan Blachowicz faced off with gold on the line that same year. Reyes fell short again, this time due to a second-round knockout.
Reyes hopes the third time will be the charm. After the adversity he battled through, whether or not a title shot comes this year or the next, it's the "champion" box he wants to check off more than any other.
"My whole goal with my whole UFC career is to just be cemented in the rafters as one of the greats," Reyes said. "One of the great fighters who showed up every night and gave his all, and put on performances, and had incredible skill that nobody could deny. I feel like I'm well on my way to that. Obviously, a title will solidify that in my eyes, but my whole goal is to be one of the greats and be a champion. I got into this sport to be one of the best in the world.
"I got real close, man. Real, real close. I touched the crown, but I couldn't quite pull it off. So I'm here and I'm working back to get it, and solidify my name in the rafters."
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Back in 2020, Jon Jones defended his UFC light heavyweight title for the final time. The man up against him was Reyes, who infamously lost a controversial split decision in a fight many believe he should've won. That near-miss with greatness was Reyes' first career loss and spiraled into a seemingly endless losing skid that stretched across four years, with the last three losses coming in brutal knockouts.
But now? As we sit here today, Reyes, 35, rides a resurgent three-fight win streak after a earning a devastating first-round stoppage of Nikita Krylov at UFC 314 this past Saturday in Miami.
"I was heavily in a flow state on Saturday night," Reyes said on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show. "As soon as I walked in the Octagon, there was a point where I looked at the camera right before Nikita started walking out. I was like, 'Yep.' I felt it. Let's go.
"I see one more [fight] this year, maybe October, maybe a little sooner — but then going into '26, [I'm] looking at a title shot. That's the ideal situation. If not? Keep fighting. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
Reyes' impressive career revival began in 2024 after he overcame a near-fatal battle with a blood clot. He missed all of the previous year to recover and get back in shape, but it's been all systems go ever since, as if he's back on that undefeated 12-0 run his career started with before the Jones fight.
His wins over Dustin Jacoby and Anthony Smith prior to UFC 314 were impressive in their own right. Defeating Krylov in the fashion Reyes did, however, was something that'd never happened before in Krylov's previous 39 professional fights, which includes two different UFC runs since 2013.
Aggressive from the start, Reyes ultimately floored Krylov with a concussive left-hand bomb at the midway point of the opening round.
"If you look at his footage and see his fights, he does that every single fight," Reyes said. "But he has such a tremendous chin and amazing cardio, he's in amazing shape, that he just takes it and keeps going and ends up taking you down. I think the biggest difference between me and everybody else, I say this every time, it's my athleticism, man. He couldn't keep up with my angles, my footwork.
"People say [the knockout] was exactly like Conor [McGregor vs. Jose Aldo], but Conor was 145 pounds," he continued. "I'm a 205-pounder doing that. You've got to put that into perspective there. I was surprised that he went down because he's never been knocked out before, but I wasn't surprised I did it because we've been working on that. He's a very aggressive fighter and he pushes forward."
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Dominick Reyes is closing in on his second-career UFC light heavyweight title shot after UFC 314. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Megan Briggs via Getty Images
Although the Jones controversy is the title fight remembered most in Reyes' career, it's easy to forget "The Devastator" followed it up with another attempt. After Jones vacated the belt in 2020, Reyes and Jan Blachowicz faced off with gold on the line that same year. Reyes fell short again, this time due to a second-round knockout.
Reyes hopes the third time will be the charm. After the adversity he battled through, whether or not a title shot comes this year or the next, it's the "champion" box he wants to check off more than any other.
"My whole goal with my whole UFC career is to just be cemented in the rafters as one of the greats," Reyes said. "One of the great fighters who showed up every night and gave his all, and put on performances, and had incredible skill that nobody could deny. I feel like I'm well on my way to that. Obviously, a title will solidify that in my eyes, but my whole goal is to be one of the greats and be a champion. I got into this sport to be one of the best in the world.
"I got real close, man. Real, real close. I touched the crown, but I couldn't quite pull it off. So I'm here and I'm working back to get it, and solidify my name in the rafters."
Continue reading...
