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Hey, my guys and ghouls! We start this edition of the Injury Report with this question: What is happening with Dominick Reyes? We have an answer from the ex-UFC title challenger, and it is scary.
Sittin’ on the Sidelines with some UFC fighters
Dominick Reyes (leg)
In November, the UFC announced its line-up for UFC 297, a pay-per-view event that featured championship fights such as Sean Strickland vs. Dricus Du Plessis and Raquel Pennington vs. Mayra Bueno Silva. Also on the line-up was the return of Dominick Reyes, who had not fought since suffering a KO loss to Ryan Spann at UFC 281 a year ago.
In December, the ‘Devastator’ revealed that his fight was canceled due to an Ulberg injury. A ‘frustrated’ Reyes weighed his options, including a rescheduling with the ‘Black Jag’ at UFC Atlantic City, but that was not official. In January, Reyes vs. Ulberg was officially canceled, as the UFC announced Ulberg would now fight Alonzo Menifield.
So what happened to Reyes? In a recent interview with James Lynch of Middle Easy, the ex-UFC title challenger revealed that he could not fight due to deep vein thrombosis.
“God puts us through some trials, man, and I’m having another hard go right now,” said Reyes. “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.
“I’m lucky to be alive right now, that’s always nice,” continued Reyes. “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.”
As for what happens next with Reyes, he is sat for at least ‘three months’ since he is on blood thinners.
Tatiana Suarez (knee)
We have an update on Tatiana Suarez, who was forced from her fight against Amanda Lemos at UFC 298 in February. After spending years away from the Octagon due to a myriad of injuries, Suarez returned in 2023 with two straight finishes of Montana De La Rosa and Jessica Andrade, respectively.
Hoping to continue her run at a potential championship opportunity, the No. 2 contender accepted a fight against No. 3 in Lemos, who recently fought — and lost — to reigning champion Zhang Weili. That was until one of her past injuries reared its ugly head again during a sparring session, forcing the undefeated UFC fighter to sit on the sidelines.
“It was sparring day. Everything was going well and then within like, 15 seconds, I ended up hurting my knee,” said Suarez during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. “We thought it was going to be okay. We thought it was going be, like, a short [recovery] time because it was swollen. They’re like, ‘It’ll be okay by your fight,’ and then the inflammation just never went down.
“I had to have my knee drained and there was like 400 [cubic centimeters] of fluid inside my knee, and you’re only supposed to have like three [cubic centimeters] of fluid,” continued Suarez. “So it was quite a bit. And they had given me some stem cells and my knee reacted badly to the stem cells, so then that took some more time. And then I just wasn’t able to train, like, at all. I couldn’t grapple, I couldn’t wrestle.”
Though another knee injury is not ideal for Suarez, she said that there was nothing ‘anatomically wrong’ with it, so she does not expect to stay on the sidelines for an extended period. That is great news for those of us, including myself, who want to see Suarez against Weili at some point.
Ready to Return
Jared Cannonier (knee)
Jared Cannonier is (almost) healthy again! After undergoing surgery for an MCL tear this past October, the ‘Killa Gorilla’ is nearing a return and has set his sights on a potential No. 1 contender fight against Khamzat Chimaev.
Cannonier was actually ready to serve as a short-notice replacement for Paulo Costa, who was scheduled to fight Chimaev at UFC 294 until a staph infection led to his withdrawal. After missing ‘Borz’ the first time, Cannonier hopes the UFC gives him a second chance.
Jamahal Hill (heel)
It appears as though Jamahal Hill is ready to return. The former UFC champion shared a photo of himself with the caption, ‘I’m back!,’ which comes a few months after he ruptured his Achilles tendon during International Fight Week this past July. ’Sweet Dreams,’ who was the first Contender Series fighter to win a UFC championship, underwent surgery and vacated, but was ‘guaranteed’ a fight against whoever the champion was when he returned.
The newly crowned champion is Alex Pereira, so Pereira vs. Hill could come next.
Ouch Championship
Sevket Cerkez (head)
In his first ONE Championship appearance, Sevket Cerkez was the victim of a Slice N’ Dice, courtesy of an Abdulla Dayakaev elbow at ONE Friday Fights 49 this past Friday.
Takeru Segawa (arm, leg)
Takeru Segawa ran into Superlek Kiatmoo9, a.k.a. ’The Kicking Machine,’ at ONE 165 this past Sunday. This was the result:
Bare Knuckle Bruisin’
Michael Manno (face)
As frustrated as Michael Manno was with his fight getting waved off at BKFC Prospect Series: Albuquerque, I can understand why it was, especially after seeing his face.
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