Former title challenger Dominick Reyes will return to the octagon at UFC 281 in New York for a showdown with Ryan Spann.
Reyes (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC), who hasn’t competed since a knockout loss to Jiri Prochazka in a Fight of the Year candidate in May 2021, makes his comeback against Spann (20-7 MMA, 6-2 UFC) on the Nov. 12 fight card, which takes place at Madison Square Garden.
MMA Junkie verified the booking with multiple people close to the situation, who requested anonymity because the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.
Reyes, No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie featherweight rankings, is currently on a three-fight losing skid after beginning his career with 12 consecutive victories.
The skid began in February 2020, when Reyes lost a hotly contested unanimous decision to Jon Jones at UFC 247 in February 2020. He subsequently was knocked out in a vacant 205-pound title against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 253 in September 2020, before being knocked out by the now-champ Prochazka.
He’ll attempt to rebound against Spann, who is an honorable mention in the latest rankings and coming off a submission win over Ion Cutelaba at UFC on ESPN 36 in May. The Fortis MMA product has alternated wins and losses over his past five fights.
The latest lineup for UFC 281 now includes:
- Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira – for middleweight title
- Erin Blanchfield vs. Molly McCann
- Dominick Reyes vs. Ryan Spann
