Reyes feels disrespected by short notice for title fight

Dominick Reyes isn't satisfied with the circumstances surrounding his vacant light heavyweight title fight against Jan Blachowicz at UFC 253 on Sept. 26.

Reyes agreed to the matchup last week, which means he'll have six weeks to prepare. He said, however, that he prefers to have 10 weeks for a five-round bout.

"It's a championship fight, and you're gonna give me six weeks' notice on a co-main?" Reyes told ESPN's Ariel Helwani. "Come on, bro."

"If they're gonna disrespect me with this, then whatever," he added. "It is what it is, man. It's just adding more fuel to the fire. It's a little more adversity to overcome."

The 30-year-old said the biggest issue is that he'll have less time to study his opponent and figure out a game plan.

"It takes time to prepare, man," Reyes said. "I want to go out there and freaking put on a hell of a show for the fans. I want to do some dope shit. I want to sleep him, choke him out, whatever. I want to get an astonishing finish, and that takes film study, it takes time, it takes a little bit more than six weeks."

Reyes said he asked about competing at UFC 254 on Oct. 24 instead, but the promotion wasn't willing to push the fight back. He added that the UFC "compensated me for my troubles."

The 30-year-old is also concerned that the location of UFC 253 has still not yet been announced, as the venue will determine the size of the Octagon. If the event takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, the smaller cage will be used. But if the card is in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the fight will be in the regular-sized Octagon.

Reyes said it "100% matters" in which cage he'll be fighting, since that could affect his game plan and preparation. He said he prefers the bigger Octagon because he's a big guy and likes to strike and that it's "ridiculous" the smaller cage has been used for some UFC events since it "restricts movement and it encourages grappling."

"Apparently with COVID, there's no rules and there's no transparency," Reyes said. "We just gotta roll with the punches, man. Either way, bro, we're meeting in the center and we're throwing down. I prefer a bigger cage, but what I get is what I get at this point. We're in COVID. Apparently with COVID, they can do whatever they want."

Reyes admitted he's "a little bit frustrated" by the situation.

"Somebody's gonna pay ... and unfortunately for Jan, it's him," Reyes said. "He's gonna be in my way."