Unlucky Title Challenger Dominick Reyes Books UFC Return after Losing Skid and Health Scare

Reyes battles a former GLORY Kickboxer at UFC Louisville.

It's redemption season for Dominick Reyes.

The last few years have been rough for the UFC Light Heavyweight fighter. From being on the wrong end of a closely-contested decision to arguable 'GOAT' Jon Jones in 2020 to a trio of KO defeats, it's fair to say the once 12-0 Reyes has seen better days in his career.

Four years into his four-fight losing skid, Reyes will look to turn it all around in his next fight. On Thursday, the UFC announced that the former title challenger will collide with Dustin Jacoby at an upcoming UFC Fight Night event in Louisville, Kentucky.

The light heavyweight matchup is set to take place on June 8 from the KFC Yum! Center.

Reyes hasn't competed in the Octagon for nearly two years after suffering a first-round knockout to Ryan Spann at UFC 281. Following the setback, Reyes had two bookings fall through with Carlos Ulberg, with the second being a blessing in disguise as "Devastator" realized his life was on the line with blood clots in his calf.

“I’m lucky to be alive," Reyes told Middle Easy in January. "We caught it early so it didn’t become a pulmonary embolism and thank God for that which is kind of crazy because I got a massage while my leg was hurting. I thought I pulled a muscle so I got a massage and that’s the worst thing you could ever do. I’m lucky I didn’t die on that massage table right there.”

In March, Reyes received a 'clean bill of health' from his doctors to compete again and now here we are ahead of his next fight against Dustin Jacoby. Reyes' resume includes wins over former UFC Champ Chris Weidman, Ovince Saint-Preux and Jared Cannonier, who fights in the main event of UFC Louisville.

The 36-year-old Jacoby is a former GLORY Kickboxer with 13 UFC fights under his belt. Jacoby is 1-3 in his last four fights with his most recent appearance coming against Alonzo Menifield at UFC 296, where he lost by unanimous decision.

Prior to his skid, which started with top-ranked Khalil Rountree, Jacoby was unbeaten through nine fights. The American will have another chance to crack the top 15 rankings with a win over #14 contender Dominick Reyes.

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