Eric Reynolds Building a Solid Career Heading into XFC 20 Main Event

Change seems to be the theme of late for lightweight Eric “It’s A Wrap” Reynolds. Following a move to the XFC and to a new team, Reynolds has won back-to-back fights.

As Reynolds explained to MMAWeekly.com, the move to The Dungeon in Sarasota, Fla., has “made a tremendous difference.

“The gym I’m at now, we’re one big family and everyone’s fighting, competing and getting each other better. We keep a very high pace in the gym and everyone’s got a good, positive outlook on it. You surround yourself with people that are positive and doing well; you’re going to be positive and doing well too.”

More specially, changes to Reynolds’ strength and conditioning regime have complimented his already dangerous skillset.

“I’m healthier than I was and more mature mentally, so it’s all coming together,” he said. “I’m constantly adding new routines to keep things fresh because if you’re getting comfortable, you’re not in the right place. I keep things switched up.

“I worked on my strength a lot because in my previous fights guys were taking me down and I was having a hard time getting out of bad positions. Now it’s hard to get me into bad positions and easy for me to get out. It makes it harder for guys to deal with me in those aspects.”

Originally Reynolds was supposed to have his second fight of the year against Danny Salinas at XFC 20 on Friday night in Knoxville, Tenn., live on AXS TV, but Salinas was forced out of the bout and now Lorenzo Borgomeo steps into the fight.

For Reynolds, the change came early enough that tweaks to his strategy have been made, but ultimately he expects a similar fight than the one he was prepping for, thus his game plan remains the same as it ever was.

“They both pretty much have similar styles. They both like to stand up and like to bang, so I’m expecting a stand-up war from Lorenzo,” said Reynolds.

“What sets me apart from him and pretty much everyone else is my hands. Not only am I heavy-handed and hit hard, I hit fast. It’s definitely a nightmare for anyone that steps in the cage with me. That should be their number one concern.”

Having the stability he’s always lacked – with The Dungeon and in the XFC – Reynolds feels that now he can truly make the kind of run he always felt he was capable of.

“I was always a replacement fighter or a last-minute guy and that had something to do with the rough patches I had in my career,” he said. “Now that I’m having good notice in my fights, I’ve become the number one ranked guy in the XFC and it has me in title contention.

“Not only do I want to work hard to win the title and be the champion, I’m going to work hard to keep the belt and remain the champion, because you get out of it what you put into it. I’m on a two-fight winning streak and I’ve beaten two top-level opponents and there’s only one way to go from here and that’s up.”