Jones Has No Problem With Rematch
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has no problem with giving Dominick Reyes a rematch.
Jones defended his light heavyweight title after a narrow unanimous decision win over Reyes at UFC 247 last night in Houston, Texas. Reyes surprised many with his performance with some scoring the first three rounds to him.
However, “Bones” ended the fight on top and ultimately got the verdict of the three judges. He did acknowledge that there were points during the fight where he wasn’t sure if he was winning, though.
“I wasn’t always confident that I was winning the fight,” Jones said at the UFC 247 post-fight press conference. “I was confident that I wasn’t going to be giving up or slowing down. Greg Jackson said to me, ‘Jon, you may need to win this fifth round to win.’ And the heart of a champion said, ‘No problem, coach. I can do that for you. I can leave it all out there.’
“And five minutes left, I think I displayed the difference between a champion and an extraordinary contender. He had all the tools, he had the endurance. Something special happens when it’s a time for the champion present himself. You guys saw it tonight in the fifth round.”
Many MMA fans and fighters have since called for a rematch owing to the performance of Reyes, with some of the opinion that he was robbed by the judges.
Jones is fine with that if it’s what the fans want but the decision lies with UFC president Dana White.
“It’s my job to embrace the toughest challenges,” Jones explained. “That’s what a champion is being about. I fought DC [Daniel Cormier] twice. I had no problem signing the contract. I fought Alexander Gustafsson twice and had no problem signing the contract. If the people want to see me fight Dominick again, it’s going to be up to Dana White to find a way to make that happen.”
That said, Jones still believes he did enough to win and thinks the result would be the same no matter how many times he and Reyes fight.
“It was close but he lost,” Jones added. “He can try 1,000 times and I believe I’ll edge him every single time.”
How did you score the fight?
