Dominick Reyes recently returned to the octagon only to be viciously knocked out yet again and good friend Curtis Blaydes has now had his say on what should be next for the light heavyweight.
'The Devastator' was a force in the sport leading up to his 205lbs title fight against Jon Jones almost three years ago. Despite looking solid and only losing a controversial decision to Jones, the heavy-handed star has never looked the same, losing the next three bouts all by way of knockout.
During a recent interview with James Lynch, Curtis Blaydes insisted Dominick Reyes should take a little bit of a break and let the body heal before thinking about returning to the cage:
"I just recently spoke to him, we didn't talk about the fight. I'm not gonna bring it up, I know how tough it is after getting knocked out... What's next for him? I think a break, obviously, after that. He needs a little bit of a break, let the body recover. I don't know, man. Just from a health and safety standpoint, he has had a few scary KOs and they're happening now with a lot less effort. So, I don't know honestly. I haven't asked about that but I'm sure eventually down the line we'll get into that."
Prior to Reyes' devastating loss to Ryan Spann at UFC 281, he was on the wrong end of the 2021 Knockout of the Year when he was caught with a vicious spinning back elbow by Jiri Prochazka. A TKO loss to Jan Blachowicz rounds off his worrying losing streak.
Check out what Curtis Blaydes had to say about the light heavyweight's run of misfortune in the video below:
What's next for Curtis Blaydes?
Curtis Blaydes saw his big opportunity go awry when Tom Aspinall was injured just 15 seconds into their bout at UFC London, but he now finds himself in a strange situation in the division.
Currently ranked No.3 at heavyweight, reports are beginning to suggest that the 31-year-old could be used as a backup option for Jon Jones' debut in the weight class if the former light heavyweight champion's rumored title clash against Francis Ngannou doesn't unfold.
If the heavyweight title fight does come to fruition, Blaydes will likely have a strong case at the next shot if he is to beat one of the other top contenders in his division.