Leading up to their fight tonight at UFC Boston, Chris Weidman and Dominick Reyes have been fairly respectful towards one another. But, that doesn’t mean that Reyes doesn’t have bad intentions, as he gets set to face the former middleweight champ.

Reyes’ rise up the 205 ranks

Reyes made his way to the UFC in 2017 with a decent amount of hype behind him, on account of the fact he had gone 6-0 to begin his career. Since then, the now 29-year-old light-heavyweight has added five more victories to his record, and Reyes has defeated contenders like Ovince Saint Preux and Volkan Oezdemir. He also took out Jared Cannonier in May, 2018, before the latter eventually moved down to 185.

As a result of this run, Reyes has moved into the #4 ranking, and many believe if he scores a big win tonight, he could secure a fight with the champ, Jon Jones.

Reyes’s take on what Weidman will come with

Of course, many believe Reyes will face a serious test tonight in the form of Weidman, Even though the latter is making his light-heavyweight debut. While discussing what he believes the decorated wrestler will try to do against him tonight, Reyes recently said this (quotes via MMA Fighting):

“I know what’s going to happen: He’s going to shoot on me,” Reyes said. “He’s going to try to take me down. I don’t know if he’s going to try to manhandle me, because he can’t – I’m much bigger than him. But he’s going to try to control me. Honestly, I’m expecting a shot, (and) I’m expecting takedown attempts.

“All of a sudden, I don’t have takedown defense because Volkan [Oezdemir] took me down, but he never shoots ever, and he caught me. He caught me slipping, but I know it’s coming with Weidman same way I knew it was coming with OSP (Ovince Saint Preux), and he couldn’t take me down. I was ready for it.”

Now, as far as Weidman looking to take the fight down, it’s hard to argue with Reyes here. After all, Reyes is 6’4 feet tall, and his record isn’t short on finishes. So, Weidman will likely turn to his NCAA Division 1 wrestling pedigree.

Wrestling aside, Reyes also had this to say, while outlining his plans for Weidman.

“For me, I just want to put hands on him, period,” Reyes said. “Whether his chin holds up or not, that remains to be seen, but I’m going to put a lot of hurt on this guy. I’m going to hurt him. He’s going to feel a lot of pain. I’m not here to play or just to score points. I want to hurt him.”

We’ll see what happens. One thing is certain, if Reyes does take out Weidman today, it will be another massive setback for the former champ. The New York fighter has gone 1-4 in his last 5 fights and in each loss he was stopped.

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