Jon Jones has fired back at his former rival Dominick Reyes.
On Tuesday, the UFC heavyweight champion took to X to respond to Reyes’ recent comments, claiming that he had defeated Jones in their light heavyweight title fight at UFC 247 in 2020. Although an official unanimous decision win for Jones, many online criticized the scoring of the fight and had Reyes winning. Reyes also believes he got the job done, and spoke his mind on the subject once again in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani.
“What a claim to fame, almost beat John Jones,” Jones wrote on Twitter. “Got full of myself and literally couldn’t win another fight.”
What a claim to fame, almost beat John Jones. Got full of myself and literally couldn’t win another fight. 😩 pic.twitter.com/rDENqskxHj
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 11, 2024
After losing to Jones in 2020, Reyes went on to get stopped three consecutive times. Reyes returned to the win column this past Saturday, putting away Dustin Jacoby at UFC on ESPN 57.
Jones claims he didn’t watch the fight, but his advice still stands.
“Dominic, when you look back at our fight, I don’t want you to ever question me or those judges,” Jones wrote. “Look at your own heart, your own endurance, you didn’t do enough. The sooner you accept that, the better athlete you’ll become.”
Oh what a nice surprise I didn’t watch https://t.co/81BxrzuIGv
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 11, 2024
Dominic, when you look back at our fight, I don’t want you to ever question me or those judges. Look at your own heart, your own endurance, you didn’t do enough. The sooner you accept that, the better athlete you’ll become.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 11, 2024
The victory over Reyes was Jones final fight and title defense at light heavyweight. Shortly after the bout, Jones vacated his title and then took a three-year hiatus from the sport. He returned in March 2023, defeating Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title.
At the end of the day, Dominic trained for years to defeat me. He mentioned that I was always his target from day one. He had the chance. The fight ended with that man trying to survive
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 11, 2024
Jones is currently getting back to training after recovering from surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle. He’s expected to return in November to make his first heavyweight title defense against Stipe Miocic.
