‘The Baddest Light Heavyweight On The Planet’

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Dominick Reyes, no longer standing in the shadow of Jon Jones, is here to prove he’s the baddest light heavyweight on the planet, starting with his victory over Jan Blachowicz at the upcoming UFC 253 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Sept. 26 in Las Vegas.

Don’t agree?

That’s okay, because “The Devastator” doesn’t give a flying fuck what you think.

“I’m going to be the baddest light heavyweight on the planet when I perform,” Reyes told MMA Fighting. “My next performance is going to speak for itself. It won’t matter. I’m at the point where I don’t give a flying ‘F’ about what anybody says about anything. I love performing. I love going out there and throwing down. I’m getting better and better and better and people are either going to like it or they’re not. If they don’t like it, that’s on them. I love to get down. If they like it, they’re awesome. They’re on board with the new champ. If not, my paycheck doesn’t change either way.”

It will definitely change if he loses to Blachowicz and heads to the back of the line.

Reyes (12-1) crossed over to UFC in June 2017 and racked up six straight wins with four nasty finishes, a run that was strong enough to land him a light heavyweight title shot against Jones. And despite a valiant effort, the judges awarded “Bones” the split-decision victory.

Which is currently unrecognized by Team Reyes.

“I might be the last person ever to fight Jon at light heavyweight and I won,” Reyes continued. “Whether the cards say it or not, we both know what happened that night. That’s just the reality of the situation. I’m very proud and happy that I went through that with him and I’m grateful that I got to be in there and do what I did and he gave me his best. He didn’t underestimate me. Not one bit. I got the best Jon Jones at the time. I just showed that I was better.”

Blachowicz (26-8) is the winner of three straight, having recently stiffened Corey Anderson at UFC Fight Night 167. This is by no means a “gimme” fight for Reyes and he’ll likely need a highlight-reel finish to back up some of his pre-fight hype.

For the rest of the UFC 253 fight card and line up click here.