Rich people have rich problems. Similarly. bloated fighters engage in bloated arguments for their legacy. Not even a full twenty-four hours have passed since former title challenger Dominick Reyes mentioned his dominant performance in 2020. ‘G.O.A.T.’ Jon Jones, however, has already found merchandise to slap back at the commentary.
On Tuesday morning, Dominick Reyes appeared on the day’s edition of The MMA Hour after returning home to California. The 34-year-old light heavyweight was the big winner of UFC on ESPN 57, bagging a Round 1 TKO stoppage of Dustin Jacoby. He touched on Jones’ imminent retirement and their last fight during the segment. ‘Bones’ didn’t like what he had to say on the matter.
What a claim to fame, almost beat John Jones…Got full of myself and literally couldn’t win another fight. Dominic, when you look back at our fight, I don’t want you to ever question me or those judges…Look at your own heart, your own endurance, you didn’t do enough. The sooner you accept that, the better athlete you’ll become.
Jon Jones via X (@JonnyBones)
Reyes (13-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) snapped his four-fight skid this Saturday at UFC on ESPN 57. After losing to Jon Jones at UFC 247, ‘The Devastator’ devastatingly faced three consecutive stoppage defeats. Hence, having his hands up for the first time since October 2019 was a huge moment. Despite an initial snub from the UFC Fight Night’s $50,000 bonus list, the top brass even chose to award his performance later.
Dominic, when you look back at our fight, I don’t want you to ever question me or those judges. Look at your own heart, your own endurance, you didn’t do enough. The sooner you accept that, the better athlete you’ll become.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 11, 2024
The victory over Dominick Reyes was the final light-heavyweight defense for ‘Bones.’ Shortly after the bout, Jones vacated his undisputed gold and took a three-year hiatus from the sport. Later, he returned in March 2023, submitting Ciryl Gane for the vacant UFC heavyweight title. However, even today, he pulls all the stops, guarding his G.O.A.T status.
Ultimate Fighting Charades: Jon Jones vs. The World
There’s just a pattern to Jon Jones’ unforgiving X tirades on his peers. The Team Jackson’s MMA Acoma striker hasn’t fought since UFC 285. However, to this day, he considers any mark on his legacy as an aberration, past or present.
Jon Jones hyper fixated on guarding his legacy (Source: UFC.go.com)It starts and ends with old rival Daniel Cormier, who made for the biggest rivalry in promotion history, both on and off the ring. Even now, the duo often hiss at each other’s views, swiping down what the other has to say.
UFC is a brilliant company, did what they had to do to save the event. But I do agree with you, it definitely confused a bunch of UK fans, got them entitled thinking their boy really is the champion. It reminds me of when DC was the “champion” during my absence. https://t.co/UXbx7LMboG
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 9, 2024
Speaking to the “Smile 2 Jannah” Podcast, ‘Borz’ named Jones as the dream G.O.A.T Fight. Jones did not respond well to the testimony of Khamzat Chimaev choosing himself, even in hypothetical fights. He stopped him right on the tracks.
Khamzat Chimaev stop it, don’t let people ask you those questions.
— BONY (@JonnyBones) January 19, 2024
Then, there’s the matter of him and Brit heavyweight Tom Aspinall; it will go down in history as the most volatile title unification snub. Islam Makhachev was recently in the fight of his life, making a third lightweight defense from Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Despite his all-around win, ‘Bones’ went on a somewhat lengthy self-affirmation on why he’s the No.1 P4P.
It felt awesome to get that level of recognition from the boss, the man that’s literally been here since UFC 1. I know the haters are not gonna like his comments but Dana’s a pretty hard person to argue with. @danawhite has had a front row seat to my entire career, facts are…
— BONY (@JonnyBones) June 2, 2024
After his desperate rebound at UFC on ESPN 57, Dominick Reyes quipped that it’s not a belief but a fact that he won against Jones when they fought. Although Jon Jones got the unanimous nod, many were critical of the scoring, which had Reyes winning. As such, Jones once again went on X to defend his legacy. It appears Jones and his X antics will not stop anytime soon.
