In the last defense of his light heavyweight title, UFC boss Dana White thought that Dominick Reyes had done enough to deduct Jon Jones.
28 hunters have done their best to beat the long-standing UFC champion.
Matt Hamill did that technically. Alexander Gustafsson and Vitor Belfort came close. One judge let Thiago Santos win against Jones on their scorecard at UFC 235. But Dominick Reyes? The #11-ranging UFC-Light heavyweight competition was not offered that performance against 'bones'.
Reyes fought against Jon Jones on UFC 247 in 2020, a month before the COVID-19 Pandemie locked the world. It was the last light heavyweight title defense of Jones and one of his absolutely difficult with Reyes pushing the pace of the opening bell.
A former university football star, the Underdog Reyes used his athletics, footwork and striking skills to give Jones an point for his money.
Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty images
Dana White let Dominick Reyes win 3 rounds. Jon Jones
Reyes started the five-round fight very strongly and caught Jones out of balance with a slap on the body before he turned his first Takedown attempt. Reyes defended 7 of the 9 Takedown attempts by Jones, the UFC champion unable to keep him low for more than a few seconds.
Jones was cut early in the fight with Reyes who flowed into the pressure in the early rounds. Reyes entered Jones in rounds 1, 2 and 3 and attacked heavily on the body and on the head.
Jones's best work was in the championship rounds, namely round 4 after a weapon-swinging Reyes started to tire. Jones was wearing Reyes with his wrestling and forward pressure on the feet.
“I had Dominick Reyes 3-1 in the final round,” UFC CEO Dana White revealed his score card at the UFC 247 Post-Fight Press Conference.
Reyes thought he also won rounds 1, 2 and 3. The jury members would see it much, much different.
A judge scored Fight 4-1 for Jon Jones
All three jury members scored the opening round for Reyes, but it is rounds 2 and 3 where they differed. Judges Marcos Rosales and Joe Solis both scored the second round for Jones. Solis, who had Jones to win 4 rounds to 1, scored around 3 in favor of Jones, just like Judge Chris Lee.
Dana White excluded the 49-46 score card for Jones as 'Insane', stating many who did not agree with the assessment in the light heavyweight title fight.
“My children terrorize the solution and how can this happen?” Wit said.
“Dad, Reyes has won that fight …” And the list continues with people who contact me, “White added.
“So it is not as if there is this landslide of people who say that there was a 'theft' or whatever. People have it everywhere. But the reality is, who gives as ***? We are not judges. None of us are judges. The judges called the fight and that is that.”
Jones vs. Reyes was one of the seven fights that went a decision on UFC 247. Four of which had a different judge with six fights that ended in a kind of scoring controversy.
“Regarding the assessment and the raising tonight, I think it was perfect? I didn't,” said White.
After the controversial title fight loss at UFC 247, a fight that many fans thought he had won, Dominick Reyes dropped his next three fights in the light heavyweight division.
Reyes returned twice to the win column last year and put Dustin Jacoby and Anthony Smith under two rounds.
The former title Challenger is planned to compete against #8-ranged slightly heavyweight competition Nikita Krylov on UFC 314 on 12 April in Miami.
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