UFC Exclusive: Dominick Reyes Lifts up Tony Ferguson, Others without a Win ‘Fighter or Not'

Reyes sends out an inspirational message to those who may need it during Men's Mental Health Awareness Month.

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Dominick Reyes might have been down for the last few years, but he was never out.

Life hands us all trials and tribulations that we have to get through. For the #13 UFC Light Heavyweight contender, he had to taste defeat four times to get where he needed to be at UFC Louisville - back to winning ways with a spectacular first-round TKO of Dustin Jacoby.

UFC News: Dominick Reyes Snaps 4-Fight Losing Streak With Faceplant KO

It was a long time coming for Reyes, with his most recent win before that being a stoppage victory over former champ Chris Weidman in 2019.

"Feels amazing," Reyes told MMA Knockout of the win. "Long time, a lot of work in the dark, a lot of grinding and struggling, and so much uncertainty. But finally, finally got done. Just happy, man."

Reyes was on the brink of winning the UFC Light Heavyweight title in 2020, and in some eyes, Reyes had done enough to become the first man to dethrone then-champ Jon Jones. But, the three judges at the cage side didn't see it that way, giving the fight to Jones instead.

What followed for Reyes were three UFC losses to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka and Ryan Spann, and on top of that, "The Devastator" battled life-threatening blood clots. Still, Reyes fought on and never gave up on himself, turning his career around for the better.

A former title challenger with gold very much in his sights, we asked Reyes if winning the world title would mean more to him now, seeing as though he has faced much adversity since losing his undefeated record in his first title fight.

"Adversity always looks great, for sure, but it'd be pretty much the same," Reyes answered. "The goal is to win the title and you reach your goal finally at the end. Yeah, it would be definitely, probably mean a little bit more after all this adversity in terms of, like, I went through much more, instead of just getting to the top. I had to get to the top, go all the way down to the bottom and then back up to the top. So either way, when I get there, it's gonna feel amazing."

Reyes would like his second road to gold to start with a spot on UFC 306, a pay-per-view event like no other set to go down from the Las Vegas Sphere on Sep. 14, in junction with Mexican Independence Day.

"UFC, the sphere would be pretty cool," Reyes said. "A historic event like that would, it would be an honor to be on that card.... as long as there's fans. For me, like Louisville was one of the best experiences of my life. The fans were so loud and so excited."

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

"I'm just happy to get in the win column. I'm happy to be here today. I'm happy to possibly get the opportunity to fight at the Sphere. It happens to be Mexican Independence Day, so I'm sure the Mexican fans will be out in full force. I'm Mexican as well as other things, but yeah, I'm just proud to represent myself, my family, my culture, California, the U.S., Mexico, if they'll have me, and yeah, that's where I'm at. I'm just grateful, bro. I'm grateful to talk to you. Grateful to be in the sun. We don't know how long that's gonna last."

In a better place physically, mentally, and spiritually, Dominick Reyes gives a message of hope this June to his fellow fighters who haven't been without a win for long, such as Tony Ferguson (0-7 in his last seven fights) or to anybody who has been struggling during Men's Mental Health Awareness Month.

"Whether you're a fighter or not, just keep fighting," Reyes continued. "Tony's a prime example. He keeps training hard, man. He keeps fighting. Never quit. Whether it's mental health, whether your girl left you or you got fired from your job or whatever happened in your life, man, keep fighting. Keep fighting. Don't quit. When times get really tough, man, there's somebody that's always gonna be there for you. You know, Jesus Christ and our Lord, Yahweh, will always be there for you.

"If you're going through something mentally, you don't have to be a tough guy. You could go out, you could reach out to people, you could be vulnerable. It's okay. It's okay - we'd rather have you here than do something crazy or wild, and then we don't have you here anymore. So, when it gets tough, just keep fighting. Don't quit. Don't give up, ever. We as humans are a lot stronger and more resilient than we realize. Just the better days will come. Just stay in the light and don't go to the dark."

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