New Dad Energized Ahead of Thrilling Contest at 205 in UFC 327

Dominick Reyes (15-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will be one of several light heavyweights to make the walk on Saturday inside Kaseya Center for UFC 327. With this past Saturday’s announcement that the planned UFC 327 co-main event between Joshua Van and Tatsuro Taira is moved to UFC 328, three out of the five main card fights this week are at 205 lbs.

In the second fight on the main card, the aforementioned Reyes will be touching down in south Florida for a contest versus Johnny Walker (22-9, 1 NC MMA, 8-6, 1 NC UFC) at the home venue of the NBA’s Miami Heat. Heading into UFC 327, Dominick Reyes stands at No. 10 in the rankings at light heavyweight, while Johnny Walker is ranked No. 12.

Dominick Reyes has some history with one of the fighters who will be competing during the UFC 327 main event over the weekend. Late last September, he headlined UFC Perth against Carlos Ulberg, with the latter winning by way of first-round knockout with under a minute remaining on the clock.

Dominick Reyes Has Lofty Goals in Mind After UFC 327 Tilt

Although Reyes is the No. 10 contender at 205 going into this weekend’s card in Miami, he’s aiming to have his name on a marquee before 2026 is out. During a recent interview with USA Today’s MMA Junkie, he mentioned that he’s eager to get back into the spotlight sooner, rather than later.

“Well, I was on a three-fight win streak,” Dominick Reyes began. “ I win this one, it’ll be four out of the last five, so it’s pretty damn good.”

From there, he talked about sharing the card with a title fight in his weight class.

“It’s like a relevancy thing,” he continued. “We live in a world of ‘What have you done for me lately?.’ Everything’s kind of like short-term memory, so I go out there and put on a hell of a show against Johnny and the main event is a couple fights later, I’ll be in the conversation, you know?”

Dominick Reyes Fighting for Family Honor at UFC 327, Talks Walker Assignment

Saturday’s contest at UFC 327 carries extra meaning for Dominick Reyes. It’s the first time he’ll fight inside the fabled Octagon since the birth of his son last December. He mentioned that this fight carries a greater importance now that he’s a father.

“I have a full new motivation, appreciation, I feel like a new man, truly,” he said. “Dad strength is hitting hard. I’m physically than I’ve ever been and I’m fitter than I’ve been in the last four fights, so that’s really exciting.”

Reyes also discussed what was going through his mind when word came down about fighting Johnny Walker this weekend.

“It was funny,” he mentioned. “The way they approached me is like, ‘Dom, we’ve got a fun one for you,’ and I was like ‘All right, let me hear it.’

Upon learning that Johnny Walker was his next opponent, Reyes simply said “Let’s go! That’s going to be awesome!”

Dominick Reyes Eyeing Johnny Walker for a While

Reyes couldn’t contain his happiness when he found out about the Johnny Walker booking for this coming Saturday night.

“Fighting a guy that loves to fight like myself, we always put on exciting fights,” he said. “We go out there and we throw down, so for me, when I heard Johnny Walker, I was like, ‘You know, it’s about time. It’s really about time.’ We’ve been around each other the whole division for a long time and finally, we’re going to fight.”

“It’s a fight that I’ve really been looking forward to for a long time,” Dominick Reyes continued. “It’s a really interesting stylistic matchup, so, yeah, man. I’m excited.”

Final Thoughts

Dominick Reyes has had a busy stretch away from the Octagon in recent months with the arrival of his child. Although Father’s Day isn’t until June inside the United States, Saturday’s fight may as well be Reyes’ own personal Father’s Day.

Will he be able to bring home a win to his family? Tune in and find out.