UFC light heavyweight Dominick Reyes is set to return to the Octagon after a long layoff. Reyes’ last fight was a loss to the current champ, Jiri Prochazka, which came via a spectacular spinning elbow. On The MMA Hour, Reyes revealed that he hopes to return to competition soon, after a long period of “soul searching”.
“I had to do some soul searching of my own. I had to figure my own s*** out before I could really be in the mix and talking to [the media], because the answers I would’ve given you wouldn’t be true. I went home, got my s*** together, got back to my roots, and I feel good — I feel good about my life, I feel good about my future, and I’m excited about what’s next.”
Dominick Reyes on “Soul Searching” Career Pause
Despite all this, Dominick Reyes never once considered giving up fighting. “I never considered not fighting, not ever. It was just needing to stop messing around, stop messing around on the streets and just get my s*** together. I never considered not fighting — I did take some time off, but look at Jiri, he didn’t fight until [UFC 275]. Over a year later, he’s barely fought as well. He didn’t get knocked out, I did, but he just stayed out. I’m looking to take a little bit more time and I’m looking to come back around October.
But I didn’t do anything until [this past] October when I went to Vegas and went and tried out Xtreme Couture. I did a little bit of light sparring with Sean Strickland, which might’ve been his lightest sparring ever, but I went back there and I was the heaviest I had ever been. I was like 245, pretty out of shape, but they were cool, man — good people over there. They helped me get my mind back on the game. From then on, I’ve just been training and enjoying it, really.”
Dominick Reyes may have faced some negativity, particularly in light of his three-fight losing streak, but he’s ready to come back and prove himself once again. It’s worth noting that these losses were against Jon Jones, Jan Blachowicz, and Jiri Prochazka – all light heavyweight champions.
“I’ve learned lessons, I’ve seen the industry, I’ve seen how things are, and how people are, and it’s really good. I feel like the first time, I put too much into how the media perceived me and I cared too much about the fans talking crap, and I made some mistakes there. I didn’t really know what to expect. This time, I’m excited about it.”
Are you looking forward to seeing Dominick Reyes return to the Octagon? Let us know in the comments.
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