Rea's performance at UCC 6 had not gone unnoticed and almost a year later, the UCC called him back for their star-studded UCC Hawaii show. That "next fight" was against none other than Rich Franklin who, at the time, was undefeated at 8-0. Rea found himself once again in the familiar role of the underdog, but this time he also had to cope with the unfamiliar role of the loser.
Rea stayed active after the Franklin match, and by the time the fight against Cyborg came around, Rea was 6-3. Speaking from a personal perspective, this reporter can vouch for that fact that almost nobody had picked Rea to win against the Chute Boxe fighter. And the difference between the two fighters could not have been clearer than at the weigh-in, when the Brazilian and some of his entourage jeered the Frenchman.
"Yes, Cyborg tried to intimidate me but I just thought that it was ridiculous. What did he want? Did he think that if he scared me, I would not show up to fight the next day?
"At the end of the day, Cyborg can do whatever he wants if that helps him and makes him more confident for the fight. But some people around him spoke a lot and it did bother me a bit. But whatever they did didn't change the result anyway, so who cares?
"As for the fight, I must admit that I'd expected more from him. He came out fast and strong with the punches, which is what we thought he would do. I knew that he might hurt me and he did, but I stayed focused and waited for the opportunity to take him down. As soon as I got him down, I returned the favor."
Indeed he did. Apart from the initial flurry of wild, swinging shots, the fight was all Rea as the Frenchman took advantage of his more accurate striking game to hurt Cyborg on the feet, before taking down the Brazilian and finishing him with some punishing ground-and-pound.
The experience as a whole was a positive one for Rea, who was left with a very happy impression of the MMA scene in the UK.
"Cage Rage was a great show, very professional and well produced. They treated me well and I appreciate that. I have some projects in Canada and the USA this year, but Cage Rage will be my priority now and I want the belt."
This last wish may not be too much to hope for since Rea had originally been matched what some saw as a real contender's bout to decide who should fight for the vacant light heavyweight title. Rea's opponent was to have been Dutch destroyer Melvin Manhoef, but a managerial mix-up has meant that Rea will instead be facing Pierre Guillet April 30.
"They are very different fighters,” Rea analyzed. “I saw Manhoef's fight against Matthias Riccio at the last Cage Rage and he's a very good kickboxer, with a strong, explosive style. I was not surprised to be matched with him since we had both won our fights and it made sense. But I was confident to face him.
"As for Guillet — he's totally different. He's a submission guy, well rounded and very dangerous. I think we have opposing styles, but the potential is there for an excellent fight. I'm confident, of course, but I'm not going to reveal my strategy! You will see on the 30th."
Now that he is finally starting to get the recognition that many feel he has deserved for some time, Rea is setting his sights high for the future.
"I want to fight the best fighters in my weight class in the best events in the world,” he claimed. “After the fight against Cyborg, Wanderlei Silva told me that they had other strong Chute Boxe fighters who they want to put against me for revenge. I don't know if this is going to develop into some sort of thing between Chute Boxe and me, but it is an interesting challenge and I would really like to face fighters like Shogun and the others.
"For me, I think it's just the beginning and the best is yet to come. This has all been a learning experience for me and I've grown very much as a fighter since March 2001. For now, I just want to say thank you to all my sparring partners, to my trainers and to the friends who believed and still believe in me. I want to say thank you to all my fans and I hope that I will be able to repay the faith that you have shown me."
(With the greatest of thanks to Jess Liaudin whose excellent translation services enabled this interview to take place)