No. 3-ranked UFC light heavyweight Dominick Reyes has a history with Jon Jones. Reyes was the last man to fight “Bones,” competing in February 2020 at UFC 247. “The Devastator” challenged Jones for his 205-pound strap and it was a back-and-forth battle that went all five rounds.
In the end, Bones was crowned the winner by unanimous decision, a call that was hotly debated in the MMA community with many scoring the fight for Reyes.
GettyDominick Reyes reacts after his fight against Jon Jones during UFC 247 at Toyota Center on February 08, 2020 in Houston, Texas.
Reyes is back to action on Saturday night headlining UFC Vegas 25 against No. 5-ranked Jiri Prochazka. The Devastator is hoping to earn a big win on May 1, putting an end to his two-fight losing skid. The Devastator was finished by Jan Blachowicz in September when they competed for Jones’ vacant belt at UFC 253.
Jones left the division in August to move up to heavyweight where he is currently campaigning for a shot at the belt. However, Jones and UFC president Dana White seemingly haven’t been able to negotiate a suitable price tag for Bones to compete, leaving the opportunity open for Derrick Lewis to receive a title fight against champion Francis Ngannou instead of Jones.
In an interview with Heavy ahead of his fight with Prochazka, Reyes said that he knew Jones would “price himself” out of a fight with Ngannou.
“I called it,” Reyes said. “I called it that night. I said this fool is gonna price himself out of the fight. And what did he do: price himself out of the fight.
“I’ve got this guy’s number. I’m not even around this guy and I know exactly what he’s going to do,” he continued.
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Reyes Believes Jones Moved Up Wanting Stipe Miocic, Bones Is ‘Trying to Hedge His Bets’
Ngannou won the heavyweight title in March at UFC 260 by knocking out then-champ Stipe Miocic in the second round. Reyes told Heavy that he thinks Jones was hoping to fight Miocic instead of Ngannou and that’s a factor for why he’s trying to get a bigger payday.
“He wanted to fight Stipe,” Reyes said. “He thought he could beat Stipe easily. But then Francis did what he did and he was like, ‘Oh s***, I gotta get bigger. I gotta get stronger. And I need more money. I’m not a p****, I need more money.'”
Reyes said that he doesn’t think Jones is scared of Ngannou. “It’s always classic Jon Jones,” The Devastator continued. “He’s trying to hedge his bets, always.
He believes that as long as the UFC pays Jones the “ridiculous amount of money he’s asking for,” Bones will fight them and then retire.
“His plan is to become a heavyweight champion, and then retire,” Reyes said. “‘I’m the greatest of all time. I got my big payday. I proved it, blah blah blah, I’m out.'”
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Reyes Doesn’t Expect to Ever Rematch Jones
GettyJon Jones and Dominick Reyes face off during the UFC 247 ceremonial weigh-in.
A rematch between Bones and The Devastator is appealing as the two fought to a close decision. However, Reyes doesn’t believe the two will ever meet inside the Octagon again.
“Never,” Reyes said. “I never expect to see that guy ever, ever again. He ran as quickly as he could. As soon as that bout was over, he grabbed his belt, jumped in his car and sped off. That was it.”
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