Ready or not, No. 9-ranked flyweight contender Wilson Reis is coming for the elite in the 125-pound division.
After ousting Roufusport product Dustin Ortiz at UFC on FOX 18 last weekend (Sat., Jan. 30, 2016), the up-and-coming grappling wizard took his place in the official rankings. Reis’ rather one-sided victory over Ortiz marked his fourth win under the ZUFFA banner and he feels he’s ready for a more difficult challenge.
Reis told Combate (via Bloody Elbow) of his intentions of fighting sooner rather than later:
“The first thing I checked in the morning was the UFC rankings. I went from number 12 to 9. That’s all I wanted. I hope I can fight someone who’s above me. I’m not injured, I’m ready to fight soon. I want to fight in Brazil in May. I think it makes sense to fight the winner of Joseph Benavidez vs. Zach Makovsky, but it could be John Moraga or Kyoji Horiguchi. Whoever is available.”
With the win in New Jersey, the Pennsylvania-based Reis brought his Octagon record up to 3-2. His lone losses have come against ranked combatants Jussier Formiga and Iuri Alcantara.
Now looking to move up the 125-pound food chain, Reis is setting his sights high for the winner of Benavidez vs. Makovsky, which takes place on the FOX Sports 1 main card of UFC Fight Night 82 tonight (Sat., Feb. 6, 2016) inside MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“Joe Jitsu” has held court in the Top 3 of the flyweight division since its inception in 2012. Benavidez’s only “L’s” have come against current champion and pound-for-pound stalwart Demetrious Johnson.
Makovsky, on the other hand, is a former Bellator bantamweight titleholder and he has achieved mixed results since his UFC debut. While his last outing against two-time title challenger John Dodson was very close, it still went down as a loss, bringing his promotional record to 3-2.
Personally, ex-title challengers John Moraga and Kyoji Horiguchi are more reasonable options seeing as how they both do not currently have a fight scheduled. A bout arrangement with Moraga might prove difficult, though, due to the former being slowed by post-concussion syndrome.
Regardless, in a contender-starved flyweight division, Reis isn’t short of options to prove his mettle against.
For more UFC Fight Night 82 news and notes, including up-to-the-minute live results and play-by-play, click here and here.