From Buffalo Wild Wings to the octagon, Jon delos Reyes already planning move

SINGAPORE – Jon Delos Reyes makes his octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 34, where he faces bantamweight Dustin Kimura on the event’s preliminary card streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

But the 26-year-old fighter and Buffalo Wild Wings cook already is planning a move to the flyweight division, where he believes he’ll have a size advantage.

“I can make the weight now because I’m really on a good, strict diet,” Reyes told MMAjunkie. “The weight is coming off easily.”

UFC Fight Night 34 takes place Saturday at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore. The event’s main card also streams live on UFC Fight Pass.

You would think working around food would make that a tough proposition for Reyes, who started cooking not long after moving to Las Vegas from his native Guam.

Reyes, though, said the job is merely a break between training sessions. He currently works with jiu-jitsu ace Robert Drysdale and at Alliance muay Thai, in addition to being coached by Benson Henderson’s trainer, John Crouch.

“If I don’t work out or train, I get bummed out,” Reyes said. “It’s like [cooking] is my part-time job.”

Reyes was at work this past November when his manager told him he had a call from the UFC. Earlier in 2013, he had tried out for “The Ultimate Fighter 18? and made it past the initial phase of the audition, but didn’t make the final cut.

When he was told he had a UFC contract, he broke down in tears.

“I had to step out,” he said. “I didn’t believe it. I started breaking down emotionally.”

Reyes (7-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meets octagon vet Kimura (10-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who beat Chico Camus in his debut and then was submitted by Mitch Gagnon in his most recent appearance at UFC 165.

“Just a lot of heart and hands flying, and fast-paced submission ground work,” Reyes said of what to expect when the two meet. “Just a good fight. Maybe ‘Fight of the Night.’”

A $50,000 bonus surely would put some distance between Reyes and the kitchen.

“I wouldn’t have to go back to Buffalo Wild Wings for a while,” he said with a laugh.

For more on UFC Fight Night 34, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.