In a surprising turn of events, Dominick Reyes recently withdrew from his highly anticipated showdown with Carlos Ulberg at UFC Atlantic City. This unexpected development comes just over a week ago, leaving fans and the MMA community speculating about the reasons behind Reyes’ decision.
This saga began a month earlier when Carlos Ulberg had to pull out of their scheduled match at UFC 297. The aftermath of Ulberg’s withdrawal saw a minor war of words between the combatants. Fast forward to the present, Reyes found himself withdrawing from the rescheduled bout due to unforeseen health issues.
In a recent interview with Middle Easy, Dominick Reyes disclosed the reason behind his withdrawal – sudden blood clots in his calf. This condition can have severe and even fatal consequences.
Reyes shared his experience, stating: “God puts us through some trials, and I’m having another hard go right now. Me and Carlos were slated to fight January 20th. He pulled out, I don’t know why.”
“It’s an injury, obviously, but he’s not going to say what his injury is. And then a week later, I ended up getting blood clots. Deep vein thrombosis. So yeah, I’m out for a minute.”
The severity of Reyes’ situation became apparent when he emphasized the life-threatening nature of his condition. He continued: “I’m lucky to be alive right now, that’s always nice. We caught it early, so it didn’t become a pulmonary embolism, and thank God for that. Which is kind of crazy because I got a massage.”
“My leg was hurting, and I thought I pulled a muscle in my calf, so I got a massage, and that’s the worst thing you can ever do. I’m lucky I didn’t die on that massage table right there.”
Reyes faces a challenging road to recovery, hindered by the necessity of blood thinners in his treatment. This setback significantly limits his training options for the next few months.
When Dominick Reyes is cleared to resume action, he aims to break free from a challenging streak. It started in February 2020 with his controversial loss to Jon Jones. Following his near-title victory, Reyes suffered three consecutive knockout defeats to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Alonzo Menifield.