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

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

and former

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player. He currently competes in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #13 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings.

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 moderate we ...

, on December 26, 1989, and is of

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

descent. Reyes was an athlete from a young age: he wrestled and played American football, aspiring to play in the NFL. 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 research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

, where he earned his

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in Information Systems. Reyes was the starting safety for the Stony Brook Seawolves 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; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

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 UFC full-time.

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

'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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, 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 UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' 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 compete ...

on December 2, 2017, at

UFC 218 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

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

Jared Cannonier Jared Cannonier (born March 16, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently fights in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 15, 2022, he is #3 in the UFC middleweight ra ...

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 a Haitian-American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor since 2008, Saint Preux has also formerly competed for Strikef ...

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, Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas–Paradise, ...

. 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 kickboxing practitioner. He currently competes in the Light heavyweight (MMA), Light heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

on March 16, 2019, at

UFC on ESPN+ 5 ''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 WeidmanMIXED MARTIAL ARTS S ...

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 artist currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in which he has competed in the light heavyweight division. He is a former two-time UFC L ...

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 classe ...

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 Championship ...

. 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 for 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 mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. He was the i ...

on February 27, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 186 ''UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Gane'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 186'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 44'' and ''UFC Vegas 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 27, 2021, at the ...

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, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2013, he has also fought for the Legacy Fight ...

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.

Personal life

Reyes was nicknamed "The Devastator" because of his calamitous 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 league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

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 has competed in the Lightweight division of the

Championships and accomplishments

(Two times) ** Fight of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

, KO (punches) ,

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

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Chris Weidman Christopher James WeidmanMIXED MARTIAL ARTS S ...

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Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, Chile , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

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Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Jordan Powell , KO (head kick) , LFA 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:53 ,

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Marcus Govan , KO (head kick) , Hoosier Fight Club 32 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

Michigan City, Indiana Michigan City is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana Metropolitan statistical area, which is included in the Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City Combined sta ...

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Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

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Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and located ...

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Highland, California Highland (and neighboring "East Highlands") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population of the city was 53,104 as of the 2010 census, up from 44,605 at the 2000 census. The term ''Highland'' also refers to a geo ...

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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