The featured prelim of UFC 310 tomorrow night features a battle between two former light heavyweight title challengers. Anthony “Lionheart” Smith (37-20) will be looking to bounce back after his last fight as he takes on Dominick Reyes (13-4).
Starting with Lionheart, we last saw him back in June when he stepped up to face Roman Dolidze on the main card of UFC 303. The fight came together quickly as the promotion was forced to add some last minute fights due to some cancellations. Smith didn’t look great and lost a decision. Prior to that decision loss, he stopped the previously unbeaten Vitor Petrino back in May.
The last time we saw Dominick Reyes was at UFC Louisville back in June where he knocked out Dustin Jacoby in the first round. That was Reyes’ first win since 2019. In 2020, Reyes fought Jon Jones for the light heavyweight title and lost a close decision. While many thought he won, it wasn’t meant to be.
Reyes then got a vacant title shot against Jan Blachowicz. Unfortunately for Reyes, he was knocked out in that fight. Injuries and two more knockout losses followed and Reyes career looked like it could be over. That said, he’s motivated and believes he can still become a UFC champion.
UFC 310 Prediction
I’m very curious to see how Anthony Smith looks tomorrow night. He’s been dealing with a number of personal issues and it took a second weigh-in attempt this morning to make the 205 pound limit. Smith has said this week that he doesn’t care about winning rather he cares about destroying something. Just not sure what kind of mental state he’s in.
Reyes seems poised and very motivated after his last performance. While I think these two are very evenly matched on the feet, I think you should expect more volume from Reyes at UFC 310. I also think the power advantage really is with Dominick Reyes. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Smith try to use his wrestling in this matchup.
While the odds suggests that this fight isn’t close on paper, let me assure you, it’s going to be a close fight. That said, I just think all the momentum is with Dominick Reyes and I think he puts on a good performance to win his second fight in a row.
Prediction: Dominick Reyes by Decision