Dominick Reyes steps into the main event spotlight this weekend on Sept. 27 at UFC Fight Night in Perth, Australia, facing the surging Carlos Ulberg in a critical, five-round, light heavyweight contender clash. For Reyes, this fight came about due to an impressive career resurgence, which saw him string together three consecutive knockout victories after a difficult four-fight skid.
A win against the highly touted prospect in Ulberg could catapult the former title challenger back into the upper echelon of the 205-pound division.
Speaking candidly to the host of Submission Radio, Denis Shkuratov, Reyes disclosed the struggles of being diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis, a condition involving blood clots that can be life-threatening if not treated properly.
“I was living day to day with my deep-vein thrombosis, and my doctor said, ‘Hey man, if you wake up today, then good on you. If you don’t, well, then it didn’t work out,’” he revealed. “I was living literally day to day, kind of as we all should really, and it was like a very profound experience.”
Reyes was adamant that the condition is now fully managed and poses no risk to his performance or health come fight night. In April 2024, he let his Instagram followers know that his condition has been dealt with thanks to doctors who helped save his life:
He also revealed that the health struggles made him more sure of his faith.
“I felt God, I felt His energy. He’s one hundred percent real,” Reyes said. “I have no question in my mind at all that this is only a small piece of eternity.”
For Reyes, a win under these circumstances would be arguably the most impressive of his career and may give him another ticket to a shot at the light heavyweight belt. Reyes previously vied for the throne in 2020 against then-champion Jon Jones in a closely-contested fight that he believes he won.
Following the loss to Jones, Reyes brutally lost three consecutive fights by knockout, leaving many fans wondering if he could regain his spot at the top of the division. Despite being counted out, he bounced back with three consecutive finishes of his own and looks poised for another title run.
His shot at the belt is not guaranteed, however, and his opponent, Carlos Ulberg, will not be an easy fight. Ulberg enters the contest on an eight-fight winning streak, looking to use a victory over an established name like Reyes to stamp his own path to the title.
With fight night quickly approaching, Reyes’s focus is now singularly on the task at hand. He has overcome a career slump and a significant health hurdle to earn this main event platform, and he aims to turn this recent adversity into his greatest triumph inside the Octagon in Perth.