Australia’s massive young lightweight, Tom Nolan, sought, and achieved, his second UFC win at home against Alex Reyes at UFC 305 on Saturday.
Nolan had lost his UFC debut by upset knockout before getting the job done in his sophomore effort. In the meantime, Alex Reyes had returned to the octagon more than six years after his debut, with no fights in between. However Alex, brother of former light-heavyweight title challenger Dominick Reyes, was knocked out for a second straight fight. As a result, Tom Nolan was a massive favorite heading into their bout at UFC 305.
Tom Nolan stalked his opponent early in the fight but Reyes timed a blitz and landed a takedown against the fence. Alex transitioned to the back but could not get his hooks in. He maintained control for a minute but got too high when trying to again get hooks in, so he fell off. Back on the feet, Nolan’s aggression did solid damage, but then Reyes stalled him again with grappling. Nolan broke free this time, landed an elbow on the break, and again poured it on. Reyes was able to move laterally and avoid some of the onslaught, but he had absolutely no respect from his foe in striking. At least, that was the case until he caught Tom with a right hand that made him reassess his aggression.
In late round one Alex got punished for a takedown with a knee, but then Nolan fell to his back. When trying to get up, Reyes landed an illegal knee to his grounded foe. It was a heated moment and Nolan was fine, so the referee did not take a point, but did give Alex a hard warning.
The second round began with more aggression from Nolan, he landed a spinning backfist early that may have knocked out a less hardy foe. Ninety seconds into the round a short, straight left hand from the Aussie dropped Alex Reyes to a knee, but he refused to go all the way down. Tom poured it on but Alex had recovered relatively well. He must have still been a bit foggy, because he found himself trapped against the fence more and more due to passivity. However Nolan got over-aggressive and was trapped in a clinch again. Escaping gave Tom one final minute in the round to deliver his high-paced offense. He landed a monstrous combo in the final twenty seconds, forcing Reyes to get on his bicycle to survive the round.
The giant, 6’3″ lightweight Tom Nolan continued to mostly cruise his way to victory in the third and final round. Reyes mostly just circled and threw leg kicks, not maximizing his win condition while down two rounds. When Alex did get aggressive he was punished for it. Finally he shot a takedown halfway through the round but Nolan stuffed it. Tom turned that sprawl into a d’Arce choke attempt; it seemed for a moment as though he would finish it, but Reyes survived and got up. Alex held Nolan in the clinch as the clock ticked past one minute remaining. Tom did not escape, but he was the one doing damage, pushing on his foes head to create space for elbows while Reyes focused on controlling the offensive dynamo. Massively to his credit Alex Reyes opened up in the final moments, swinging wildly to the bell in search of what little chance there was for a knockout.
When the dust settled the two men clapped each other on the backs and awaited a decision which was really just a formality. All three judges gave him the win, with only one giving the Aussie less than all three rounds as he earned a win in his home country for the first time with the UFC.
Official Result: Tom Nolan def. Alex Reyes by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
