Dominick Reyes won’t return to until 2022 to ‘take care of my brain’

Dominick Reyes attempts a guillotine choke on Jiri Prochazka at UFC Vegas 25 in May. | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Former UFC title challenger Dominick Reyes isn’t planning to compete any time soon. From being a top…


Dominick Reyes attempts a guillotine choke on Jiri Prochazka at UFC Vegas 25 in May.
Dominick Reyes attempts a guillotine choke on Jiri Prochazka at UFC Vegas 25 in May. | Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC

Former UFC title challenger Dominick Reyes isn’t planning to compete any time soon.

From being a top prospect in the UFC’s light heavyweight division, Dominick Reyes has now found himself in a skid. With a 12-0 record and a highlight reel win over former champion Chris Weidman in 2019, “The Devastator” had since suffered three straight losses.

Reyes’ most recent defeat came at the hands of Jiri Prochazka in May, when he was flattened by a spinning back elbow. And as he looks at two straight losses via KO and TKO, the 31-year-old is giving himself a break.

“I actually have to heal, like actually let my mind… this is, like, real shit. I want to be able to talk to my grandkid when I’m older. It’s part of the process, man,” Reyes told James Lynch in a recent interview.

“I could be a macho man about it and be, like, ‘No, I’m good, I’m in the gym.’ No, man. I’m healing up. This shit is real life, bro. You’ve got to heal.

“I’m not fighting ’til, at the earliest, February. Mid-February. I’ve got to take care of my brain a little bit, here.”

The number six-ranked Reyes holds a record of 12-3.