There seems to be a snowballing consensus among mixed martial arts pundits and fans alike that only a heavyweight could cut off Jon Jones’ lights and knock him out cleanly.
Well, Dominick Reyes might have something to say about that on Saturday night. That’s when the undefeated contender will challenge for Jones’ light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 247 at the Toyota Center in Houston, live on pay-per-view.
Jones told Ariel Helwani earlier in the week that after he beats Reyes he’d like to move up to the heavyweight division and face champion Stipe Miocic. Reyes is aware of Jones’ intentions, and doesn’t feel disrespected by them at all, relegating them to simply answering Helwani's questions.
He would, though, love nothing more than to alter those plans with a knockout. That would prove it can be done in the light heavyweight division, over which Jones has ruled over with otherworldly skills.
“I want to be the first guy to knock out Jon Jones,” Reyes told DAZN on Wednesday. “That goes in my record book, it goes on my mantle.
“Nobody has ever beat him,” he continued. “A lot of people see him as this unstoppable force. ‘Nobody is going to beat him. He’s going to have to go to heavyweight (for him to lose),’ making him out to be this crazy, unstoppable machine. He’s not a force that nobody could touch.”
That’s not to say Jones must be knocked out to taste defeat, according to “The Devastator.” Reyes believes he could dethrone the man — widely regarded as MMA’s GOAT — in other ways. He would just relish doing it by brute force with his heavy hands.
“There’s more than one way to beat Jon,” Reyes said. “Knockout isn’t the only way. Although that would be the funnest way to beat him. But no, there are plenty of ways to beat him — just got to play the game right.”
Reyes (12-0) has done plenty right to earn this shot, with seven of his victories coming by the way of knockout, including his first-round evisceration of Chris Weidman in October.
Throughout the buildup of this bout, Jones has asserted that while he respects Reyes’ game, there are levels to MMA and that the distance between himself and the rest of the light heavyweight crop will remain.
Jones (25-1, 1 no contest) has cleared everyone in his way, including a third-round TKO of Alexander Gustafsson in December 2018 to regain the light heavyweight strap, followed by victories over Anthony Smith in March (unanimous decision) and Thiago Santos in July (split decision) of last year. So, despite Reyes insisting he’ll present Jones a more complex challenge, it’s easy to fathom how “Bones” just doesn’t believe it.
“He’s kind of like, ‘Been there done that,’” Reyes said.
But Reyes doesn’t quite buy the aura the champ is exuding.
“I know for a fact he’s fully focused on this fight,” he said, “and if he’s not, he’s going to get hurt.”
Earlier in the week, Jones took to Twitter and said Reyes is “a big fish in a small pond,” calling him “delusional” over the Hesperia, Calif. product's failed NFL aspirations.
To those tweets, Reyes simply thinks Jones is insecure and failing in his attempt to bait him into mind games before their fight. In fact, Reyes even went so far as to say Jones’ digs are a smokescreen hiding the champ’s true feelings for this bout.
“I just think he’s nervous about the fight,” Reyes suggested. “I think he knows I’m a real threat and he wants to get me to divulge a possible game plan or fight out of character.
“I started thinking about his family. Jon was the runt of his family, he didn’t make the football team. He’s made the obvious (statements) like, ‘I hate guys like Dom. He was the captain of the football team. He got good grades. He worked hard, he wasn’t a f—k up.’ I do believe he has insecurities about his athleticism and he wants to prove he’s good enough. It’s like, ‘Dude, you’re already the champ.’”
Outside of Jones’ attempts to belittle his challenger as nothing more than another inferior contender, Reyes has all the motivation he needs in the chance to cement his fighting legacy.
“How many times am I going to get this opportunity in my life to make that walk to the Octagon and fight in front of the world?” Reyes said. “It’s not something that happens every day. I know fighting Jon, it might never happen again. So, I might as well go out there and freaking do it, man. Go for it.
“I’m going to go out there and be myself, fight my fight, not let Jon bully me like he does to everyone else and have fun,” he continued.
If he pulls off the mammoth upset, then Reyes' "#Takethestrap" mantra against Jones will be complete.
“There’s nothing to hold me back, but me.”