Dominick Reyes had his career resurgence paused in devastating fashion Down Under.
Saturday’s UFC Fight Night event in Perth, Australia, was largely a successful one for the home favorites. Plenty of Oceanic stars had their hand raised, and that included in both the main and co-main events.
After Jimmy Crute submitted Ivan Erslan in front of his compatriots, it was the turn of New Zealand’s Carlos Ulberg in the curtain closer. Ulberg brutally knocked out Reyes in the first round of the UFC Perth headliner to extend his winning streak to nine.
‘The Devastator’, meanwhile, saw his three-fight run of victories snapped emphatically and had his hopes of securing a third UFC title shot significantly dented.
- LATEST NEWS: Wanderlei Silva’s positive hospital update as gruesome details emerge of vicious post-fight KO
Dominick Reyes reacts after having his resurgence viciously stopped by Carlos Ulberg
Before running into the No. 3-ranked contender on Saturday, Reyes had reeled off three straight triumphs to bounce back from a difficult winless period that spanned nearly five years.
Following Reyes’ controversial decision loss to Jon Jones, knockouts against Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Ryan Spann left many writing off any chance of the Californian returning to the top.
Consecutive wins over Dustin Jacoby, Anthony Smith, and Nikita Krylov went some way to proving his doubters wrong, but Reyes fell short of returning to the top five at UFC Perth.
He soon took to Instagram after the brutal result, congratulating Ulberg in his first post-fight statement.
“Congratulations to Carlos, just wasn’t my night,” Reyes wrote. “God is good always.”
- LATEST NEWS: Jon Jones seemingly mocks Dominick Reyes after former rival’s resurgence ends in ruthless fashion
UFC Perth main event cost Adin Ross a huge bet
Joining Reyes’ fans in being disappointed by the result Down Under was Adin Ross, but the online streamer had a different reason for his despair.
Ulberg’s finish cost Ross a huge UFC bet nearing $800,000. Four fights had already gone the American’s way, including Neil Magny’s controversial win over Jake Matthews.
Ross crashed out after the final fight on his parlay did not come through. That’s a familiar story for the 24-year-old, who also watched on as his UFC Paris bet earlier in September went down the drain.