UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon “Bones” Jones successfully defended his title last night at UFC 247. The event took place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The all-action battle was a close one for the usually dominant Jones (26-1) as Reyes executed a strategic game plan against the unconventional Jones.
Reyes (12-1) utilized fast footwork and great takedown defense to give Jones a championship-caliber challenge.
“Bones” was unable to slow down Reyes’ attack landing big shots on Jones throughout the first and second rounds.
However, round 3 was the closest with each fighter having shining moments.
In the fourth, Reyes peppered Jones with a sequence of hard shots. Jones, a collegiate wrestler, took Reyes down, however, Reyes got up quickly and separated back to the middle of the Octagon.
During the fourth, Reyes’ pace began to slow swinging the momentum to the champ. The fifth and final round saw Jones utilizing his footwork to stalk Reyes before the final bell sounded.
The close fight yielded scores of 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 for Jon Jones. The Houston crowd booed loudly at the close fight with many believing Reyes had done enough to edge out the champ.
“I wasn’t always confident I was winning the fight,” Jones said during the post-fight presser. “I was confident that I wasn’t going to be giving up or slowing down.
“It’s my job to embrace the toughest challenges. That’s what a champion is being about. 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.”
