A battle between past UFC light heavyweight title challengers is expected to take place in December.
Multiple people with knowledge of the promotion’s plans confirmed to MMA Fighting that a matchup between Anthony Smith and Dominick Reyes is targeted for UFC 310, which is slated for Dec. 14 in Las Vegas. MMA Mania was first to report the booking.
Smith has dropped four of his past six bouts, including a loss to Roman Dolidze in his most recent appearance at UFC 303 in June. “Lionheart” began 2024 with a big upset win at UFC 301 in May, handing Vitor Petrino his first career loss with a first-round guillotine submission. Smith makes his 24th walk to the octagon, which includes a decision loss to Jon Jones in his lone title fight at UFC 235 in March 2019.
Reyes started off 2024 returning to the cage following a 19-month layoff, finishing Dustin Jacoby in the first round at UFC Louisville in June. The victory was Reyes’ first in nearly five years since stopping Chris Weidman in the main event of UFC Boston in October 2019. “The Devastator” then lost a controversial decision to Jones at UFC 247 in his first title opportunity in February 2020, before suffering brutal knockout losses against Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Ryan Spann.
