REPORT | Anthony Smith vs. Dominick Reyes booked for UFC 310

Former UFC light heavyweight title challengers Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes will reportedly collide at the year’s end pay-per-view event.

MMA journalist Alex Behunin was the first to report the news of the Smith vs. Reyes booking, reportedly set for UFC 310 in December. The date, venue, and location for the event have yet to be announced, but the UFC usually holds its year-end final PPV cards in Las Vegas.

Smith returns to the Octagon after taking a short-notice booking against middleweight Roman Dolidze at UFC 303 in June. He lost the fight by unanimous decision after he was originally scheduled to face Carlos Ulberg, who withdrew on days’ notice.

Before the loss to Dolidze, Smith got back on track in the light heavyweight division with a first-round submission of Vitor Petrino at UFC 301. He’s lost four of his last six fights overall.

Smith hasn’t won consecutive fights since 2020-2021, when he finished Devin Clark, Jimmy Crute, and Ryan Spann. This fight with Reyes is potentially a must-win situation to remain relevant in the title picture.

Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes collide in pivotal LHW bout

Smith will face another formidable test in Reyes, who snapped a four-fight losing streak by knocking out Dustin Jacoby at UFC Louisville in June. Before that, he suffered three straight knockout losses to Spann, Jiří Procházka, and Jan Blachowicz.

Reyes is looking to reclaim the form that saw him nearly defeat Jon Jones for the light heavyweight belt at UFC 247. It was Jones’s light heavyweight finale before moving up to heavyweight in 2023.

The loss to Jones was Reyes’s first professional loss, after a 12-fight winning streak to begin his career. On the way up the light heavyweight ladder, Reyes defeated the likes of Chris Weidman and Volkan Oezdemir.

The UFC 310 main event has yet to be announced, as of this writing, but Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler remains a potential option for the card.