Dominick Reyes returning to face Ryan Spann at UFC 281 in New York

Former light heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes will return to action for the first time in more than a year when he meets Ryan Spann at UFC 281.

MMAjunkie.com was first to report the booking. UFC 281 takes place on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York and features a middleweight title fight pitting Israel Adesanya against Alex Pereira.

Reyes began his professional career with 12 consecutive triumphs — a run that included six wins in the UFC. He lost a narrow decision to Jon Jones in a light heavyweight title bout at UFC 247 and has since suffered KO/TKO losses to former champ Jan Blachowicz and current 205-pound king Jiri Prochazka. His most recent appearance, a second-round KO loss to Prochazka at UFC on ESPN 23, occurred on May 1, 2021.

A former competitor on Dana White’s Contender Series, Spann has been victorious in six of his eight Octagon appearances. Most recently, “Superman” submitted Ion Cutelaba in the opening stanza of their encounter at UFC on ESPN 36.