ANAHEIM, Calif. – In Dominick Reyes’ mind, there’s a lot riding on his October fight in Boston.

Reyes (11-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC), a 29-year-old light heavyweight, will take on former middleweight champion Chris Weidman (14-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN 6 main event.

Having only competed once since October 2018, Reyes was energized by the environment backstage at Saturday’s UFC 241 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The undefeated fighter said being around a UFC event made him all the more itchy to get back into the cage.

“I’m firing on all cylinders just being here,” Reyes said. “This environment gets me going. I’m getting just amped up being here around the octagon. I can’t wait, man. It’s a good night to be here.”

When he was first offered the bout, Reyes was surprised to hear Weidman’s name. With a plethora of unmatched contenders looking for fights, Reyes was eying a fight against Anthony Smith. But when Smith’s hand issue became apparent, Reyes accepted a surprising fight against the then-185-pounder.

In a suddenly crowded 205-pound division, Reyes believes a win over Weidman will elevate him above the rest of the pack. He even went as far as to say he doesn’t see any other feasible possibility.

“I was a bit surprised,” Reyes said. “I was like, ‘Oh, Chris Weidman.’ I’ll definitely take the fight, but I wasn’t expecting that name to come out … A win over Chris Weidman guarantees me a title shot.

“He’s a former world champion. I’ve beaten two former title challengers. Now I’m beating champs. The only thing left to do is fight the champ in my division after I take out Chris. That’s my projection. I’m 5-0 in the UFC. I’ll be 6-0 (after October), 12-0 overall. What argument is there?”

In Reyes’ eyes, a win in October will align his return with UFC champion Jon Jones’ targeted return timeline. If Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) fights in December and wins, Reyes believes a matchup in April or May will be in the cards.

Most recently, Jones competed at UFC 239 in July against Brazilian challenger Thiago Santos. The bout went all five rounds and ended in a split decision victory for Jones. The bout was so close that Reyes, who sat cage-side, scored it for Santos.

“I actually had (Jones) losing by a round,” Reyes said. “I was there. I was sitting cageside a completely objective, unbiased judging in my own eyes. I saw Thiago winning the hand exchanges and kind of pushing him back. Jon is a great champion. He knows how to win and how to win the judges over. (He) stayed in his face and won the fight.”

If the matchup with Jones comes to fruition, Reyes believes he will be the first man to defeat “Bones” not named Matt Hamill. While he explained Jones presents a unique skillset in each of his fights depending on the opponent, Reyes thinks he can beat whatever adjustments the champion makes.

“The thing with Jon is, he adapts to everybody he fights,” Reyes said. “So it’s tough to say, ‘Oh, I picked up this or that from each fight.’ Bottom line is, I’m different than anybody he’s fought. I’m me. When I fight him, he has to adapt to me and try to figure me out. That’s what it is. I’m fighting Jones.”

UFC on ESPN+ 6 also features a feather weight co-main event between Zabit Magomedsharipov (17-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) and Calvin Kattar (20-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC). A women’s flyweight bout between Maycee Brber (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and Gillian Robertson (7-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) is slated for the event.