The one-time title challenger vows that his latest KO defeat doesn’t spell the end for his MMA career.
It sounds like Dominick Reyes is OK after suffering a first-round KO loss to Ryan Spann at UFC 281 this past Saturday.
The ‘Devastator’ returned to the Octagon after a year and a half away with hopes of snapping a three-fight losing skid. Those hopes were dashed, with Spann taking only 80 seconds to finish Reyes with a devastating jab and follow-up punch on the ground. That loss was the third consecutive KO for Reyes, who originally stepped away from competition to recover from the damage he sustained in those previous fights.
In his first post-fight comments, Reyes vowed to continue on after the disappointing appearance.
“I was hungry to get my hand raised and rushed the fight, I’m OK,” wrote Reyes. “I live to fight another day. Another lesson learned. Congrats to [Alex Pereira] what an incredible performance to become the middleweight champion. God is good always. Thank you to my friends and family who support me, to my management [Tiki Ghosn and Julian Gregorio]. And big thank you to [Teixeira MMA and Fitness and Fernely Feliz Sr.] for the camp and believing in me.
“I’ll be back just have to shake it off and get back in there,” continued Reyes. “Big thank you to the [UFC, Dana White and Madison Square Garden] for the opportunity. The energy was amazing last night and it felt great to be in the arena again!”
The 32-year-old began his UFC tenure with six consecutive wins. Highlighted by a ‘Performance of the Night’ awarded first-round KO of Chris Weidman, Reyes would get a championship opportunity against Jon Jones at UFC 247. He lost to the former UFC light heavyweight champion by a controversial decision.
Reyes suffered consecutive second-round KOs to Jan Blachowicz and Ji?í Procházka at UFC 253 and UFC Vegas 25, respectively.