Javier Reyes has fought all around the world – but his heart has always remained in the same place.
On Tuesday night, Reyes (21-5) has the opportunity to make a nation proud as he seeks to become the lone Colombia-born fighter on the promotion’s roster. It took 56 fights (26 professional and 30 amateur) to get here, and Reyes competed across the Western Hemisphere from Kentucky to Honduras to California to Peru.
Now, Reyes is one impressive win away from putting “UFC fighter” on his byline.
“Hopefully, there will be more after me and the ones that represented Colombia in the past, I feel like they left Colombia at an early age and they really don’t represent Colombia,” Reyes recently told MMA Junkie through a Spanish-language interpreter. “I mean, I think you have to live there, represent it, and have that spirit of Colombia there. I’m here. Hopefully, with me, it would open more doors to a lot of Colombian fighters, you know what I mean? That’s my goal. Hopefully, one day (there will be) UFC Colombia. That’d be awesome.”
While “Blair” (a nickname he acquired during his days as a parkour artist) will only have a few supporters in Las Vegas, making the trek to watch him fight, many will be present in spirit – and also, in a way, physical form. During fight week, Reyes has carried a giant Colombian flag with hundreds of signatures on it.
“We did an event in Colombia where we saw all the fighters from the massive event, all of Colombia’s coaches, they came in there and they signed it for me,” Reyes said. “I feel like I got all the energy for the flag and all my Colombians, and everybody’s there with me. So when I’m in the cage tomorrow, I feel like I’m not there by myself. I’m with my entire country, Colombia. Everybody’s with me. So it’s like you’re fighting 100 million people, having the energy from everybody, the spirit from everybody. I’m going there tomorrow night, taking over.”
Reyes, 31, has lofty goals and aspirations – but refuses to count his chickens before they hatch. He needs a win Tuesday over Fury FC standout Justice Torres (12-3). A short-notice replacement, Torres is one of four different opponents Reyes had offered to him this camp. Regardless of the “who,” Reyes is confident the “what” will always be a win.
“I think Dana White is gonna love it because I’m entertainment,” Reyes said. “Everybody tries to look like a bad boy or put on a face. Bro, let’s come over here to put on a show. I have fun from the moment I walk to the cage, the moment I’m in the cage. I put on a performance.”
