No one to date has been able to hand Jon Jones a legitimate defeat, and the UFC’s light-heavyweight champ is a sizeable favorite to win his next fight. But, the man who will face him, Dominick Reyes, is reporting he’s not intimidated at all by the renowned fighter.

Reyes says Jones has “insecurities” all over

Reyes has been tapped to fight Jones at UFC 247, which will go down on February 8th in Houston, Texas. The rising fighter was booked for the opportunity after Reyes put away former middleweight champ, Chris Weidman, last October.

While Reyes (12-0) has impressed in his UFC run to date, and he has scored several, impressive wins, not too many people seem to believe he’ll end the reign of Jones. After all, Jones is one of the greatest fighters MMA has ever seen, and few people have had any substantive answers to his comprehensive game.

But, despite all that, it sounds like Reyes is feeling very good about his chances as UFC 247 approaches. Case in point, during a recent media luncheon he was asked to comment on a face off he had with Jones. Here’s what Reyes had to say (quotes via MMA Junkie):

“I wasn’t intimidated at all,” Reyes said. “It was interesting. In the faceoffs, that was the first time I ever met Jon in my life, or even (got) near him. We came face to face, and my heart rate didn’t raise at all. I felt at home. I felt like, ‘This is it. This is Jon Jones.’ The allure of Jon Jones is a lot bigger than he actually is.

“I thought he was going to be glowing or some (expletive). My whole life, I grew up watching this guy and exuding all this different kind of energy, and when I saw him and I faced off this far away from him, I was like, ‘This guy is just a man with many insecurities.’ You can see it all over him.”

“Every single person is trying to tell you that, ‘Oh my God, you’re fighting Jon Jones. What are you going to do?’ I’m gonna fight. I’m gonna do what I’m great at. I’m gonna do what I love doing. People think it’s a lot more. It’s still a fight. It’s just a fight.”

Reyes is saying all the right things?

So, Jones’ supporters and some observers might argue that Reyes is just projecting here or is trying to get into the head of the champ. But, even if Reyes is somewhat intimidated by the champ, he certainly sounds confident and unfazed about the upcoming bout. That’s ultimately a good thing, right? In terms of selling the fight?

Now it remains to be seen if Reyes’ performance backs up what he’s been saying.

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