Dominick Reyes Has A Theory On Why Jon Jones Is Moving Up To Heavyweight
Dominick Reyes has a theory as to why his former foe Jon Jones has decided to move up to heavyweight.
Jones announced earlier this week he was officially relinquishing his 205lb belt and would begin negotiations with the UFC for his heavyweight debut. Soon after Dana White confirmed Reyes would fight Jan Blachowicz for the vacant light-heavyweight title at UFC 253 on September 26.
Reyes spoke of his disappointment of hearing Jones had gave up the title during a recent interview with ESPN.
“Aw, c’mon man!” Reyes said when asked his reaction to the announcement. “That was my reaction. Like, c’mon bro. Seriously? That’s whack. But then it was like, alright, whatever. The show must go on. Either way I’m fighting, either way I’m going for the belt. The whole goal was to get the belt anyway. It sucks that I can’t beat Jon for it at this time. But I’ll catch him. I’ll catch him later.”
Reyes and Jones went back-and-forth for five rounds at UFC 247 earlier this year. The 30-year-old felt hard done by to lose a unanimous decision on the judges scorecards which were a hot topic among MMA fans at the time. Now it appears the rematch is off the table and despite his initial surprise Reyes believes the move to heavyweight makes sense for Jones after he came so close to losing his 205lb strap.
“It was a little bit shocking,” Reyes said. “But at the same time, not because I try to look at things from other peoples’ perspectives and what they’ve been through and what leads to whatever decision they make and if you look at it, Jon, I think, truly in his heart felt like he won that fight unanimously and he has nothing else to prove in the division. Either that or he’s like, ‘Hey man, I could really lose my belt to this guy. Let’s avoid that and we’ll just vacate and go up to heavyweight and make a run at the title.’ …
“He’s moving to heavyweight because those guys are slow, you do realize that, right? He can’t keep up with us anymore. After what me and Thiago did to him, he’s like, ‘Man, I need to go up. These guys are getting too fast, they’re getting too athletic, they’re getting too good. The heavyweights are still slow. I can do my thing against them.’ I think he sees that there are better matchups for him at heavyweight than there are at light heavyweight.” (Transcribed by MMA Junkie)
Do you agree with Dominick Reyes? Is Jon Jones moving up to heavyweight to face slower, less athletic fighters?
