Five years ago, Dominick Reyes finally earned his shot at the light heavyweight strap after winning his first six UFC fights.

There was only one issue: The champion at the time was one of the greatest fighters of all time, Jon Jones. 

To the surprise of many, Reyes looked sharper than the champ in rounds one and two. He couldn’t keep the pace, though, and slowed over the rest of the fight. Most can agree that Reyes won the first two rounds, while Jones took the final two.

Round three was the swing round, and though each landed similar strike totals, many thought “The Devastator” had secured it. 

Unfortunately for Reyes, the judges scored the fight differently than he had. Though none of the three judges had the same scorecard, they agreed the champion had defended his title.

After the fight, Dana White admitted he thought Reyes had won. Media scorecards are mixed, but the majority scored the fight in favor of the challenger.

The fight remains one of the most contentious decisions in recent memory, but opinion can’t change the judge’s scorecards. Reyes left the Toyota Center that night with his first career loss.

Later the same year, Jones vacated the title. Reyes, as the top-ranked contender, was granted the chance to compete for gold again — this time as the favorite to win.

He took on Jan Błachowicz at UFC 253 for the vacant title, but the fight lasted less than 10 minutes. Błachowicz captured the title via knockout, marking the first time Reyes had been finished in his career.

Reyes then faced former Rizin Fighting Federation superstar and budding UFC sensation Jiří Procházka, who knocked him out with a vicious spinning elbow in even less time than Błachowicz did. 

Reyes hit rock bottom after his loss 18 months later to Ryan Spann, who stopped him with a jab just over a minute into the fight.

After his fight with Spann in late 2022, Reyes suffered from a blood clot issue that kept him out until 2024.

Reyes’s career now seemed to be on a completely different trajectory — far removed from his near-upset of Jones.

When he returned to the octagon across from Dustin Jacoby in Louisville, Kentucky last year, he was an afterthought to fans. The man who came closest to defeating Jon Jones was now fighting outside the rankings in the same division.

Even as a former title challenger, he entered the fight as an underdog against the unranked Jacoby.

But Reyes stopped his opponent in just two minutes, providing one of the best feel-good moments of the year.

He celebrated as one should for their first win in five years — he dropped to his knees, gave the canvas a solid thump and hyped up the crowd before the decision was read.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Reyes said to the crowd after the fight.

His motto of “not back, better” stuck, and he carried the mentality into his next fight.

He got a favorable matchup with Anthony Smith in December the same year, which he won by dominant TKO in round two. 

His matchup at UFC 314 in April was against the eighth-ranked Nikita Krylov, who was coming off a long layoff of his own. Regardless, Krylov entered the fight as a slight favorite.

His return lasted half a round before it was promptly ended by a brutal counter from Reyes. 

The man who had lost four fights in a row and suffered a nearly career-ending medical condition  just last year was suddenly in a position to petition for a title eliminator.

“One more, and then the title,” he told Joe Rogan in his post-fight octagon interview.

Unfortunately, the path to the title was not an easy one.

Pitted against the surging Carlos Ulberg in Perth — almost exactly five years after UFC 253 — Reyes looked to deliver on his promise.

The Black Jag is a tough opponent for most, but for Reyes, who tends to counterattack rather than lead the dance, he’s a nightmare. 

Ulberg was calculated to begin the fight, which clearly bothered Reyes, as he was unable to land a meaningful strike throughout the first round.

Reyes, likely needing a big strike to win back the round, decided to deviate from his usual game plan and go on the attack.  

He stepped forward and was immediately met with a rapid combination from Ulberg that — along with two brutal follow-up shots — put Reyes out for the first time since his fight with Spann. 

Though his memorable run came to an end before he could claim the title many thought he had been wrongfully prevented from earning five years prior, Reyes’s resurgence is unlike any other.

Ulberg said it himself after the fight: “You’re a big inspiration. You having this comeback has been awesome.”

Reyes’s career is far from over, but his title window is closing as he approaches the latter half of his 30s. 

Even so, he can say more than most fighters who’ve endured similar setbacks: He didn’t just come back — he came back better.