- Dominick Reyes says Alex Pereira is sharper than ever ahead of his title fight with Israel Adesanya at UFC 281
- Reyes backed Jan Blachowicz to defeat Magomed Ankalaev in their nearing bout at UFC 282
- He heaped praises on Jamahal Hill for his rise to the top
Dominick Reyes is set to mark his return to action against Ryan Spann on the preliminary card of UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in the promotion’s grand return to Madison Square Garden in New York. He will make his comeback after a year-and-a-half-long hiatus following his latest outing in which he suffered a vicious spinning back elbow knockout loss to the reigning light heavyweight champion Jiri Prochazka.
Dominick Reyes says Alex Pereira is ‘ready today’ to fight Israel Adesanya
In an exclusive interview with James Lynch for Middle Easy, Dominick Reyes shared an update on Pereira, who will challenge Adesanya for the middleweight title at UFC 281.
“He’s ready to go today. We sparred today and he’s sharp as a freakin nail right now. He’s looking real good. His cardio is amazing, his power and strength is great. I’m very excited to see how the fight goes. His movement is better than it’s ever been. I give him a good easy look, he’s pretty athletic and slick so it helps a lot. He’s tracking me down, man. He’s looking really good. I’m very excited for that fight.”
Reyes shares his analysis of Jan Blachowicz vs. Magomed Ankalaev
Former UFC 205-pound champion Blachowicz will face top-ranked contender Magomed Ankalaev in what would likely be a top-contender bout at UFC 282. Reyes gave his breakdown of the nearing contest and backed the grizzled veteran Blachowicz to come out on top.
“Jan’s a problem forever. He’s a perennial problem. He’s a tough old man who won’t go away. Honestly, it feels like he’s had a rebirth to become a young man again. Ankalaev plays it a little safe at time and Jan, he’s patient but he presses the issue. It could go either way but I feel like the inexperience of Ankalaev and the experience of Jan is going to pay off in this one just because it’s a pace kind of thing in my opinion.
“But who knows. I think it’s going to come down to the grappling. Ankalaev will probably take him down and we’ll see what happens. I don’t think it’s going to be a slugfest at all.”
Dominick Reyes praised Jamahal Hill & expressed a desire to fight him
When asked about the journey of rising prospect Jamahal Hill, who currently sits at the sixth spot on the rankings after his win over Thiago Santos, ‘The Devastator’ heaped praises on Hill and expressed a desire to fight him.
“Good sh*t. He reminds me of myself kinda. He came in, kicked down the doors, and took on all comers, supremely confident, having fun, enjoying the run, everything. God bless him! That’s all I gotta say. I like him a lot. I would like to fight him one day. He’d be a guy I’d like to fight for the title.
“I wouldn’t really be interested in fighting him on the way there again. I feel like it would be awesome to fight him for a title. It would be a lot of fun.”
Reyes will look to get back to winning ways opposite Spann after dropping three in a row. If he dispatches of Spann with ease, he could line up with Hill to move ahead in the mix of title contention.
