A brutal low blow stops Reese vs. Dumas
Less than a minute into the middleweight bout, everything went sideways. At UFC Noche in San Antonio, Zachary Reese opened with a hard kick meant for the body. It drifted low and slammed into Sedriques Dumas’ groin. Dumas dropped instantly. He rolled on the canvas, clutching himself, clearly in trouble.
The referee waved time and offered the standard five-minute recovery window. It didn’t help. Dumas stayed down, grimacing and unable to get to his feet. The arena noise built into a harsh backdrop as some in the crowd chanted “get up,” a jarring soundtrack while the fighter struggled to breathe through the pain. After several minutes, it was obvious he couldn’t continue.
Medical staff entered. Dumas needed assistance to stand and then couldn’t put weight on his legs. He was eventually placed on a stretcher and taken out for further evaluation. The referee called the fight a no contest due to an unintentional foul. No one celebrated. It was a flat, uneasy ending—one of those rare moments when a fight stops before it ever really starts.
This wasn’t the only scare. Earlier on the card, Tatiana Suarez and Amanda Lemos paused after a low strike of their own. That fight resumed once Lemos recovered, but the vibe lingered. By the time Reese vs. Dumas ended, fans had seen enough accidental fouls to last a month.
What the rules say—and what comes next
Here’s how it works under the unified rules. A groin strike is a foul. If it’s unintentional, the referee stops the action and gives up to five minutes for recovery. If the fouled fighter can’t continue and the stoppage happens early—before the halfway point of a three-round fight—it’s a no contest. That’s what we saw here. No winner, no loser, just a fight wiped from the books.
It’s worth spelling out why these incidents can be so brutal. Fighters wear protective cups, but they don’t make you invincible. A hard kick can still cause intense pain, nausea, and temporary loss of mobility. In some cases, there can be serious injury to soft tissue. The body’s survival response kicks in—your muscles seize up, your breathing shortens, and standing becomes a challenge. Needing a stretcher isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign the body is protecting itself.
For Reese, it’s a nightmare start. He didn’t intend to foul, but intent doesn’t change the result. A fight camp, the weight cut, the buildup—and then a single mistimed strike snuffs it out. For Dumas, the immediate concern is health. Expect a full medical evaluation and, likely, a standard medical suspension from the commission to allow recovery. The Texas commission typically issues those after any fight with injury concerns. Team Dumas will want scans and a clear diagnosis before talking about a return date.
Low blows are among the most commonly called fouls in MMA because of the tools and targets involved—knees in the clinch, front kicks up the middle, and midsection kicks that drift south by inches. Most of the time, the fight resumes. Sometimes, like this, it doesn’t. Referees have to read the moment in real time and apply the rulebook exactly as written.
The crowd reaction will get attention. Chants of “get up” are part of the sport’s rougher edges, but they don’t reflect what the fighter is feeling on the floor. From cageside you could see Dumas’ face tighten after each attempt to move. When the stretcher appeared, the tone shifted. Even the loud sections quieted. That’s the line in combat sports: fans want action until the danger looks real enough to touch.
Meanwhile, that earlier scare in Suarez vs. Lemos mattered more than it seemed at the time. It set a pattern for the night. When multiple low strikes happen on the same card, fighters can get cautious with kicks to the midsection, which affects pacing and risk-taking. Coaches start reminding their fighters between rounds: aim higher on body kicks, keep knees tight in the clinch, avoid the groin line. It’s subtle, but it changes the fight you see.
Financially, a no contest can sting. Win bonuses and discretionary checks often hinge on performance or outcome. There’s no official word yet on whether either fighter will get something extra from the promotion, but it’s common for the UFC to assess that after reviewing the situation. Either way, both teams lose weeks of work to a result that won’t count.
So what now? If Dumas’ evaluation comes back clean and swelling reduces quickly, a quick turnaround is possible. If there’s deeper damage, it’s a different timeline. Reese will want a rebooking to shake off the frustration and show the version of himself he trained to be. A rematch would make sense on paper: same names, same stakes, unfinished business. But matchmaking depends on medical clearance and the calendar the promotion already has in motion.
- Medical evaluations: Expect updates on Dumas’ condition once his team completes tests.
- Commission report: A short medical suspension is likely; any longer suspension will depend on findings.
- Potential rebooking: A rematch is logical if both sides agree and the timeline works.
- Training adjustments: Both camps will review tape and tighten up the targeting on body attacks.
One more point about the rules: if an unintentional foul stops a fight after the halfway point, judges can be asked to score what’s happened so far, producing a technical decision. Because this stoppage happened within the first minute, that safety valve wasn’t available. That’s why the no contest call was automatic once Dumas couldn’t continue.
Accidents happen in a sport built on speed and inches. Saturday in San Antonio, one misplaced kick turned into a stretcher and a wave of frustration. No controversy about intent, just a harsh reminder that in MMA, even the cleanest game plans can be wrecked by a split-second miss.