Dominick Reyes looks to channel 'dad strength' for UFC 327 against Johnny Walker

As a 36-year-old father to a four-month old, Dominick Reyes understands exactly where he stands. The former title challenger isn’t fighting just for another win Saturday night, he’s fighting to keep his championship dream alive. Reyes returns to the Octagon at UFC 327 in Miami against Johnny Walker in a matchup that carries significant implications in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

With the belt currently vacant and a new champion set to be crowned in the main event, Reyes, a Hesperia High School graduate, who earned the 2007 Daily Press Football Defensive Athlete of the Year, sees opportunity and has a sense of urgency. “The cool thing about fighting on the title fight card is it’s like a relevancy thing, you know,” Reyes recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “We live in a world of ‘what have you done for me lately,’ and everything is kind of like short-term memory.

” Reyes (15-5) has lived both sides of the sport’s unforgiving nature. His rise in the sport was meteoric, culminating in a 2020 title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 247. Though he lost by unanimous decision, many still debate whether Reyes did enough to dethrone one of the greatest fighters in MMA history.

Victorville's world champion: Ryan Garcia reflects on the moment that changed everything What followed was the most difficult stretch of his career. Reyes dropped his next three fights. For nearly four years, he went without a victory, a stretch that would have ended many careers.