Dana White makes up for snubbing Dominick Reyes of $50K bonus after comeback KO win

Dominick Reyes gets his performance bonus unofficially from Dana White.

Dana White makes up for snubbing Dominick Reyes of $50K bonus after comeback KO win

Dana White gives Dominick Reyes the $50K bonus (via Imago)

The UFC light heavyweight division is stacked to the brim. As such, fights are exciting for the fans and the athletes put it all on the line. Former light heavyweight title challenger, Dominick Reyes was seeing red after getting snubbed of his just rewards. The light heavyweight slugger scored a comeback knockout over Dustin Jacoby. But shockingly, he missed out on a $50,000 bonus that night from Dana White.

Reyes was rightly miffed at being shortchanged for such a statement victory. After a near five-year winless skid, that KO was worthy of some extra cash. So Reyes took his case directly to the one man who could fix it. Enter Dana White, wielding a make-good for the fan-favorite fighter. 

I didn’t get the bonus that night, which was a little bit disappointing. But I recently talked to Dana and, yeah, I got the bonus now. Yeah, it’s really really awesome
Dominick Reyes via The MMA Hour

The UFC CEO corrected the egregious oversight by dipping into his own pocket. It’s not often White has to go that extra mile for bonuses. But Reyes’ drought-busting win was so extraordinary, that even the big boss agreed it deserved proper compensation.

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Reyes defeated Dustin Jacoby via a first-round knockout. He was in dire need of a win lately. Once a surging contender, he’d hit a brutal four-fight skid following his controversial loss to Jon Jones in 2020. For now, Reyes can breathe easy knowing he’s back in the big boss’s good graces.

Dominick Reyes details self-belief amidst a losing slump

Dominick Reyes has reason to celebrate for the first time in nearly five long years. The light heavyweight put an emphatic end to his losing skid with a highlight-reel knockout. A perfect punch stunned Dustin Jacoby and Reyes followed him to finish the fight in a dramatic fashion.

Dominick Reyes details his mimdset amidst losses
Dominick Reyes details his mindset amidst losses (via MMA Fighting)

Reyes felt a massive relief after his win. He talked about his mindset in the post-fight press conference. The American fighter believed in himself and knew that his time would eventually come. 

It was never like, ‘O I will never get back to the title.’ because I know who i am and what I am capable of… It was never I'll never get back. It was just like, I gotta focus on now and then everything else will work itself out.
Dominick Reyes at the UFC on Louisville post-fight press conference

Before the KO, some wondered if Reyes would ever taste victory again. The heavy-handed slugger admitted the slump took its mental and physical toll. Plus, he was battling a serious medical condition some time ago. Thankfully, he has now recovered from it. With his health scare behind him, Reyes could finally re-focus on MMA. 

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