Dominick Reyes understands why Jon Jones would rather fight Stipe Miocic instead of Tom Aspinall.
In February 2020, Reyes challenged Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title during the UFC 247 main event. Both fighters had their moments before ‘Bones’ emerged victorious by unanimous decision, a result that became controversial throughout the MMA community.
Since then, Reyes and Jones have gone their separate ways, with the California native suffering three more losses to derail his fighting career. Meanwhile, ‘Bones’ moved up a weight class and became the UFC heavyweight champion with a first-round submission win against Ciryl Gane.
Jones was scheduled to defend his heavyweight throne for the first time against Stipe Miocic. Unfortunately, ‘Bones’ suffered a torn pectoral muscle, leading to the fight being postponed and Tom Aspinall defeating Sergei Pavlovich for the interim throne.
Once he returns, Jones is expected to rebook his fight against Miocic, leaving Aspinall wondering what’s next. The situation has become heavily debated amongst fans and analysts, with most people calling for ‘Bones’ to defend his throne against Aspinall.
During an exclusive interview with MiddleEasy, Dominick Reyes had this to say about his past opponent wanting to fight Stipe Miocic instead of Tom Aspinall:
“I completely understand where Jon [Jones] is coming from. Jon is Jon Jones, say his name anywhere in the world, and people recognize it. Fighting Tom [Aspinall] is a risk management thing. It’s almost the same reason why he didn’t rematch me kind of thing. It’s too dangerous and not enough payoff. Tom is an excellent fighter.”
Reyes continued:
“Tom is very similar to myself, but he’s a heavyweight. That’s super dangerous. He moves extremely well, he’s very quick, his wrestling is really good, his grappling is good, his power is off the charts. How is that gonna benefit Jon? Beating the most recent champion? Nah, let’s fight the greatest heavyweight of all time, Stipe Miocic…Jon is a great himself, so he’s going to fight another active great.”
Dana White reiterates that Stipe Miocic, not Tom Aspinall, will be next for Jon Jones 🏆 #UFC295 pic.twitter.com/JUYecUtd17
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) November 12, 2023
Dominick Reyes compares Sean Strickland to a superhero who absorbs his opponent’s powers
Dominick Reyes’ exclusive interview with MiddleEasy featured various topics, including former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland. Reyes has previously trained with Strickland and had this to say about the controversial striker:
“[Sean Strickland] reminds me of like, I don’t know, those superheroes or whatever that just absorbs their opponent’s powers. If he’s spars with me, now he’s absorbed all my sh*t, so now, when he fights someone and they do anything similar to me, he’s ready for it…Bottom line, it was awesome to see [Strickland defeat Israel Adesanya]. It’s good to see guys I know and respect winning fights.”
As for Dominick Reyes’ fighting career, the 34-year-old was scheduled to face Carlos Ulberg on March 30 at UFC Atlantic City. Reyes pulled out of the fight after discovering he had a life-threatening blood clot, adding to his misfortune since nearly defeating Jon Jones.
Watch Reyes’ recent interview with MiddleEasy below:
