Wilson Reis is going to keep kicking butt and taking names until he gets his UFC flyweight title shot.
Reis was scheduled to meet Demetrious Johnson for the title at UFC 201 in August, a shot which was scuttled when Johnson had to withdraw due to an injury.
Reis, a former EliteXC bantamweight champ, stated his case for rescheduled date with the champ by scoring a unanimous decision win over Ulka Sasaki on Saturday night at UFC 208. The judges’ scores at Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center were 29-28 across the board.
Reis (21-7), based out of San Diego’s Alliance MMA, set the tone in the opening round by taking Sasaki down at will and working from top position. In the second, Sasaki surprised Reis with a takedown attempt, but Reis sprawled it and got Sasaki to the mat in the ensuing scramble. Over the rest of the round, Reis managed to work Sasaki into three separate submission attempts, but wasn’t able to put him away.
The final round was uneventful until Reis made a mistake and found himself on the wrong end of a rear-naked choke. After Reis escaped, Sasaki poured it on over the final minute as he looked to steal the victory, but Reis held on until the horn sounded.
With the victory, Reis has now won three straight fights and is 5-1 since he dropped down to 125 pounds. Sasaki is 19-4-2 with three losses in his past four fights.