Dominick Reyes (born December 26, 1989) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He currently competes in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC). As of April 15, 2025, he is #8 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings. Prior to his mixed martial arts career, he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at Stony Brook.

Background

Reyes was born in

Hesperia, California Hesperia () is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located north of downtown San Bernardino in Victor Valley and surrounded by the Mojave Desert. Because of its relatively high elevation and the unique and moderat ...

, on December 26, 1989, and is

Mexican American Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexico, Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the Unite ...

. Reyes was an athlete from a young age: he wrestled and played American football, aspiring to play in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

. Reyes grew up in a poor family; his parents encouraged him to pursue sports in order to avoid getting involved with gangs. After graduating from Hesperia High School, he moved to New York to attend

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

, where he earned his B.S. in Information Systems. Reyes was the starting safety for the

Stony Brook Seawolves The Stony Brook Seawolves are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Stony Brook University (SBU) in Stony Brook, New York. The Seawolves play as members of the Coastal Athletic Association (formerly known as the Colonial Athletic As ...

from 2009 to 2012, eventually becoming captain. He twice made the All-Conference team, including being named First Team All-Big South in 2012. He intercepted a pass in the end zone with 54 seconds remaining in the first round of the 2011 FCS Playoffs to give Stony Brook a 31–28 win over in-state rivals Albany. Reyes graduated from Stony Brook as the program's all-time leader in solo tackles (158), recording 259 tackles in total. While he received attention from NFL teams, his speed was deemed 'average' and he ultimately went undrafted in the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. Although Reyes attended tryouts for the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

afterwards, he had no desire to play for a league that was not top-level. Depressed about the apparent end to his NFL dreams, Reyes returned home to California and worked in construction. He would go on to work manual labor for his father's cabinetry business. He trained for MMA at Combat Cage Academy, his brother Alexander's gym, initially to stay in shape and vent frustration. Reyes started competing in amateur MMA fights shortly after. In 2017, Reyes accepted a job as an IT Technical Support Specialist at Oak Hills High School in Oak Hills, California. He left the job after two years to focus on competition in the UFC full-time.

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's Hallie Grossman described his life during this time as "pulling Clark Kent-ish double duty: by day, he was the technology nerd who made sure the campus internet ran smoothly and installed new computers in classrooms. By night, he was the fighter trying to carve a place for himself in MMA, in King of the Cage and Legacy Fighting Alliance and eventually, finally, the UFC."

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Before signing with the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

, Reyes amassed an amateur record of 5–0 and was twice the U of MMA champion during his amateur career. Prior to entering the UFC, Reyes amassed a professional record of 6–0 including a victory that went viral on the internet against Jordan Powell who seemed to be showboating before being knocked out with a head kick.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Reyes made his promotional debut for the

on June 25, 2017, against

Joachim Christensen Joachim Christensen (born November 7, 1978) is a retired Danish mixed martial artist. He was the Superior Challenge light heavyweight champion, as well as the German Mixed Martial Arts Championship (GMC) light heavyweight champion. He also comp ...

UFC Fight Night 112 ''UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 112'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on June 25, 2017, at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Background The ...

. He won the bout via technical knockout in the opening minute of the fight, and he earned the '' Performance of the Night'' bonus. Reyes faced

Jeremy Kimball Jeremy Kimball, (born March 1, 1991) is an American mixed martial arts fighter who formerly competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, Kimball has also formerly competed ...

on December 2, 2017, at

UFC 218 ''UFC 218: Holloway vs. Aldo 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on December 2, 2017, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Background After previously contesting two events in ...

. Reyes won the fight via submission in the first round. Reyes faced

Jared Cannonier Jared Christopher Cannonier (born March 16, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of February 4, 2025, he is #7 in the UFC midd ...

on May 19, 2018, at

UFC Fight Night 129 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 129'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 19, 2018, at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. Background The event m ...

. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Reyes faced

Ovince Saint Preux Ovince Saint Preux (born April 8, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most notably competed in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions of the UFC, challenging once for the interim UFC Light Heavyweight Championshi ...

on October 6, 2018, at

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United Stat ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Reyes faced

Volkan Oezdemir Volkan Oezdemir (born 19 September 1989) is a Swiss professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2010, Oezdemir ...

on March 16, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 147 ''UFC Fight Night: Till vs. Masvidal'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 147'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 5'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 16, 2019 at The O2 Arena in London, England. ...

. Reyes won the back-and-forth fight by split decision. 11 media outlets scored the fight in favor of Oezdemir while 8 media outlets scored it for Reyes. Reyes faced

Chris Weidman Christopher James Weidman (born June 17, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. An accomplis ...

on October 18, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN 6 ''UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 18, 2019 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A light ...

in the main event. He won the fight via knockout in round one. This win earned him the ''Performance of the Night'' award. Reyes faced

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the ...

on February 8, 2020, for the

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...

UFC 247 ''UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 8, 2020, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background A UFC Light Heavyweight Championshi ...

. He lost the fight via a controversial unanimous decision. 14 of 21 media outlets scored the contest for Reyes, with 7 scoring it for Jones. Reyes faced

Jan Błachowicz Jan Maciej Błachowicz (; born 24 February 1983) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champ ...

for the vacant

on September 27, 2020, at

UFC 253 ''UFC 253: Adesanya vs. Costa'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 27, 2020 at the du Forum on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Background The event was orig ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Reyes was expected to face the inaugural and former Rizin FF Light Heavyweight Champion

Jiří Procházka Jiří Procházka (; ; born October 14, 1992) is a Czech professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion a ...

on February 27, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 186 to serve as the event headliner. However, on late January, it was reported that Reyes was pulled from the fight, citing injury, and the bout was rescheduled for May 1 at UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka. In a back and forth fight, Reyes managed to stun Procházka a few times, but was eventually overwhelmed by Procházka's volume, and was knocked out via a spinning back elbow in the second round. Reyes suffered multiple facial fractures in his knockout defeat to Procházka. This bout earned Reyes a '' Fight of the Night'' bonus award. Reyes faced

Ryan Spann Ryan Jamari Spann (born August 24, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, he has also fought for the Legacy Fighti ...

on November 12, 2022, at

UFC 281 ''UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 12, 2022, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Middle ...

. At the weigh-ins, Spann weighed in at 206.6 pounds, six tenths of a pound over the light heavyweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight with Spann fined 20% of his purse, which went to Reyes. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Reyes was scheduled to face

Carlos Ulberg Carlos Sao Murry Ulberg (born 17 November 1990) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 25, 2025, ...

on January 20, 2024, at

UFC 297 ''UFC 297: Strickland vs. du Plessis'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 20, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. However, in late December 2023, it was announced that match was off due to an injury sustained by Ulberg. The pair was rescheduled to meet at UFC on ESPN 54 on March 30, 2024. However, on January 23, it was announced that Reyes had withdrawn from the fight and was replaced by

Alonzo Menifield Alonzo Theodoro Menifield (born October 18, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2015, he has formerly fought in Bellato ...

. Reyes faced

Dustin Jacoby Dustin Anthony Jacoby (born April 4, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Champi ...

on June 8, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 57. He won the fight by technical knockout in the first round from a knee and punches. Reyes faced former

title challenger Anthony Smith on December 7, 2024 at

UFC 310 ''UFC 310: Pantoja vs. Asakura'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 7, 2024, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Valley, United States. Backgroun ...

. He won the fight by technical knockout via elbows and punches in the second round. Reyes faced

Nikita Krylov Nikita Andreyevich Krylov (born March 7, 1992) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, Krylov has also compet ...

on April 12, 2025 at

UFC 314 ''UFC 314: Volkanovski vs. Lopes'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 12, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. He won the fight by knockout in the first round after landing a left, straight punch.

Personal life

Reyes was nicknamed "The Devastator" because of his kicks. He is a fan of the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and he enjoys snowboarding, wakeboarding, mountain bike riding, dirt bike riding, and watching documentary shows on TV. Reyes has an older brother, Alex Reyes, who competes in the Lightweight division of the

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (Two times) ** Fight of the Night (One time) **Third largest strike differential in a UFC Light Heavyweight bout (+100) (vs. Anthony Smith) **UFC Honors Awards *** 2021: President's Choice Fight of the Year Nominee **UFC.com Awards *** 2017: Ranked #9 Newcomer of the Year *** 2020: Ranked #9 Fight of the Year *** 2021: Half-Year Awards: Best Fight of the 1HY & Ranked #5 Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

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Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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Pay-per-view bouts

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reyes, Dominick Living people 1989 births American male mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from California People from Hesperia, California Stony Brook Seawolves football players Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu