Jon Jones narrowly retained the UFC’s light-heavyweight title on Saturday and there’s been extensive outcry online regarding the judges’ scoring. But, despite the fact many people scored his bout with Dominick Reyes for the challenger, “Bones” insists the challenger lost.
Jones says he’ll beat Reyes a “1,000 times”
Reyes threatened Jones with big punches right out of the gate, and he appeared to best the champion in many of their striking exchanges throughout the first three rounds. Jones had more success in rounds four and five, however, and he also took Reyes down a couple of times.
After the bout, “Bones” retained the 205 crown via scores of 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 . But the consensus seems to be that Reyes should have in fact, ended Jones’ reign.
Well, while speaking to the media afterward, Jones didn’t back away from insisting he won the bout. Here’s some of what the polarizing fighter had to say (quotes via MMA Fighting):
“I don’t think he was disrespected,” Jones said. “I got takedowns. He got no takedowns. I got his back. At one point I put a hook in. The fifth round, I was surprised in the output difference we had. I have to watch the fight. It’s hard to speak with confidence when I haven’t watched the fight.”
“I think I displayed the difference between a champion and an extraordinary contender. He had all the tools. But something special happens when it’s time for the champion to present himself. You guys saw it tonight in the fifth round.”
“I don’t think Dominick had any excuses for losing tonight,” Jones said. “He lost. It was close but they say close only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. He can try 1,000 times, and I believe I’ll edge him every single time.”
So, chances are some of these comments aren’t going to sit too well with Reyes’ supporters, or folks who have never been big fans of Jones. Especially since Reyes was a massive underdog to beat Jones, and it looks like most people think he did. Further, Jones narrowly got by Thiago Santos in July.
Jones – Reyes 2?
The scoring aside, now it will be interesting to see if the UFC looks at booking a rematch. When asked about that possibility, Jones said this:
“It’s my job to embrace the toughest challenges. That’s what a champion is being about. I fought [Daniel Cormier] twice (and) had no problem signing the contract. I fought Alexander Gustafsson twice, had no problems signing the contract. If the people want to see me fight Dominick again, it’s going to be up to Dana White to make that happen.”
So, we’ll see what happens. There’s no other obvious fight for Jones right now at 205, other than a rematch with Reyes.
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