The two light heavyweight fighters, Jon Jones and Dominick Reyes, had a massive showdown for the heavyweight title at UFC 247 in February 2020. Still, Reyes’s opponent has contested the result since its announcement four years ago.
The fighter was on a high momentum in the UFC, with an undefeated start that earned him a title shot. However, he suffered a unanimous decision loss that had an inevitable lasting effect on his career. Reyes, 34, has not been quiet about this loss, as he feels he was the rightful winner of the match. He said this at a sit-down with The MMA Hour after his UFC Louisville win against Dustin Jacoby.
“Forever, he’ll also be known that he lost to me. Maybe we can figure that out one day. It’s not a belief. It’s a fact[that I beat him]. That’s the difference.”
His win against Jacoby came after a 2-year break and a four-fight losing streak, which may be set to put the fighter back on the right track.
Jones, on the other hand, did not take these comments lightly. The athlete recently became aware of them, and he does not condone these accusations.
“What a claim to fame. Almost beat John Jones. Got full of myself and literally couldn’t win another fight. Dominick, when you look back at our fight, I don’t want you to ever question me or those judges.” He said in a tweet. “Look at your own heart, your own endurance, you didn’t do enough. The sooner you accept that, the better athlete you’ll become.”
Jones left the light heavyweight division for heavyweight shortly after defeating Reyes. He has since won the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane after beating him at UFC 285 in 2023. Over the years, Reyes claimed Jones was offered an instant rematch opportunity, but the athlete turned it down. However, Jones is yet to admit to this. He is set to defend his title in November 2024 against challenger Stipe Miocic, and he seems unperturbed.
“Now I vacated because everyone wanted the rematch?” He tweeted. “I love you guys with your narratives. I poke people in the eyes, my arms are longer, I’m bigger than everyone else, I must pay that judge, I’m ducking, no one’s in their prime when they fight me. Keep em coming.”
DOMINICI REYES FINALLY HUMBLES HIMSELF
‘The Devastator took the advice and seems to have come to a resolution with the athlete. “Appreciate the advice, Jon. God bless. Good luck on your journey, and may you finish with a full heart.”
Although Reyes may have started the beef, he seems to be coming to terms with it and recently opened up about how he lost himself after his defeat to Jones. The athlete recently opened up in a confession to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
“I lost my way,” Reyes said. I was looking for something I already had. I thought I needed to do more after the Jones fight. I felt like I could have given more somehow when, in reality, I gave everything I had and then some. It took a lot from me. I was searching for more, and I lost my way, looking for something that wasn’t there.
“I used to think, ‘ Oh. I need to go to a bigger gym and work with better guys,’ and that’s not always the case. You’ve got to do focused work for you. What would work for you. Not going out there and searching for something that you already have.”
The athlete’s wake-up call came after he lost consecutive fights to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Ryan Spann.
“Who are my couple of opponents? They helped me out. That’s the only way to learn in this industry, by losing fights and getting those real wake-up calls and those reality checks. ‘You’re not doing something right. This is not how you fight. You’re making some serious mistakes here. What do you got to do to get back to you? What makes you special?…”
Since then, the athlete has returned to his old coaches and mended fences with his old rivals and supporters.
“I had to humble myself,” Reyes said. “ I had to come in an say, ‘Listen, I made a mistake, would you guys be willing to take me back? I went around searching for things that I thought I needed, but I actually didn’t. It’s all love. Really, truly.”
Reyes seems to be in a place of peace and has accepted his defeat after years of accusations and casting blame on those around him.
