Dominick Reyes took the cake at UFC on ESPN 57 regarding feel-good stories and triumphant returns. ‘The Devastator’ bounced back to winning ways after a staggering 1,695 days at Louisville UFC event. Reyes went on a deep 0-4 bleed after a dominant win in 2019. Now that he is in the win column again, a topic has emerged out of the shadows — his dominant clash with Jon Jones.
The former two-time light heavyweight title challenger faced G.O.A.T. Jon Jones at UFC 247. Compared to a dominant outcome against Rampage Jackson, Chael Sonnen, or Lyoto Machida, fighting a lesser-known Reyes almost handed Jones his first ‘real’ loss. Reyes recently offered up some interesting notions while touching on Jones’ legacy.
What does Tom [Aspinall] have to offer Jon in terms of legacy right now? Jon’s thinking, ‘I only got one or two left, …they gotta be worth it…And he doesn’t see Tom or Curtis [Blaydes] as a long-standing champion…he sees them as ‘right now’…He is not worried about right now, he’s worried about ‘forever.’ But, forever he’ll be also known [as]he lost to me…Maybe we can figure that out one day…
Dominick Reyes via The MMA Hour (for MMAFighting on SBN)
He lost a controversial decision to ‘Bones’ at UFC 247. Though Jon Jones got the unanimous nod, many thought Reyes did enough to win the title. Prepping for a move to heavyweight, Jones defended the title thrice before vacating it. The third defense came against Reyes. While it was a long-standing decision, Reyes’ performance fanned the flames of a narrative that Jones bit more than he could chew on.
Situating a knockout in under two minutes at UFC on ESPN 57, he has thus earned 10 of his 13 career victories by stoppages. Top brass also recanted its stance to offer him a post-fight bonus. Currently 13-4 MMA and 7-4 UFC, he proved why he was such a stylistic threat to Jones when they fought. As a matter of fact, he claims that it’s factual that he was the better one.
Dominick Reyes says retirement was never in his mind despite grave health concerns
Despite riding on a losing streak and health hazards, it wasn’t a do-or-die situation for Reyes. He met and defeated Dustin Jacoby in the recent co-main event at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Had he not, Dominick Reyes was an inch closer to completely dropping out of the top 15 rankings at 205 pounds.
Dominick Reyes’s bounce-back performance at UFC on ESPN 57 only boosted his resolve (Source: agfight.com/X)Yet, the 34-year-old Californian says nothing would have changed with another straight loss. He said as much during ESPN MMA’s UFC Post Show in Louisville when panelist Din Thomas asked about it. Rather than saying it would have urged him to consider retirement, he had plans to grind on.
Nah man, …I’m not gonna stop until the wheels fall off…My health is really, really good right now. I didn’t even have that in my mind of giving it up. This is such a dream come true. It’s like giving up your dream. I couldn’t consciously give up that dream.
Dominick Reyes via ESPN MMA’s UFC Post Show Panel Interviews (@ESPNMMA)
Reyes stopped Jacoby in his track with a flurry of definitive strikes in the very first round at UFC on ESPN 57. While he did have quite the emotional response watching his highlight backstage, his performance was surefire. Consequently, he wants to keep the surefire momentum going until he rises to the top again.
The 6′ 4″ southpaw remains as steel-willed as ever. He even invoked his dominant output against Jon Jones in a recent session on The MMA Hour. Reyes even touted that while unlikely, he’s also open to hashing out finer points with Jones someday. Who knows? Maybe the stars align, and MMA fans wake up one day to see a rehash between the two rivals.
