Plenty of people believe that Dominick Reyes should be holding the UFC’s light-heavyweight crown, following his thrilling bout with Jon Jones earlier this month. Well, if you’re one of those folks, then you’ll be interested to know Joe Rogan believes Reyes will provide an even stiffer test for Jones if they fight again.
Rogan comments on Reyes’ UFC 247 performance
Leading into UFC 247, not too many people were predicting that Reyes was going to end the reign of Jones. Although most people understood that Reyes is extremely powerful and athletic, the consensus was that Jones’ overall game would rule the day.
But, Reyes ended up tagging Jones with some heavy shots early on into the fight, and it seems like the consensus is he won the first three rounds (for example, Dan White scored it for Reyes). The judges saw it otherwise, however, and Jones received the decision win. As a result of the controversy, there’s been widespread calls for a rematch.
Well, recently Rogan discussed the fight during an episode of his podcast. Here’s some of what he had to say about how a rematch between Jones and Reyes might go down. (quote via MMA Fighting):
“I’m excited to see that rematch,” Rogan said. “I think Dominick Reyes will be even better in the rematch. I think Dominick Reyes realizes now that it’s all about having the energy in that third, fourth, and fifth round, and having now been to the top of the mountain and faced the dragon, I think he’s gonna come back better than ever.”
“…I want to see what Reyes can do, too. Reyes has got that rub now…One judge gave it to Jon four rounds to one which is f*cking embarrassingly bad but other than that . . .”
It will be fascinating to see what transpires in a rematch if that fight does indeed get booked. Jones has a high, fight IQ and he comes from a great camp at Jackson – Wink. So, he also will likely be better prepared for a second scrap with Reyes.
The question is, will the UFC move forward with a rematch? Or could Jan Blachowicz get tapped for a fight with Jones? Following his recent, KO win over Corey Anderson?
Rogan raises questions about Jones’ recent performance
Since Jones also narrowly got by Thiago Santos last July, there’s been a lot of talk lately about why “Bones” hasn’t been as dominant in his last couple of outings. While discussing Jones’ recent performances, Rogan said this:
“You’ve got to wonder how much of that slowing down is his enthusiasm, how much of it is physical?,” Rogan said, while discussing Jones and his motivation to compete these days. “Maybe if a big fight comes up like a Stipe Miocic fight, or Francis [Ngannou]. . . He had a couple of years off because of all his troubles outside of the octagon. Two years where he really wasn’t fighting. But other than that, he’s had nine solid years against world-championship caliber fighters.”
It’s an interesting question: is Jones still as motivated to beat the opponents he’s facing these days? After dominating the 205 division for so long? Or without a heated rivalry? Like he did with Daniel Cormier?
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