Dominick Reyes knows he and Jon Jones are linked forever.
Reyes, who is set to compete against Nikita Krylov at UFC 314 on Saturday, was undefeated when he challenged Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 249 in February 2020. Jones won a controversial unanimous decision, in what would be his final 205-pound title defense. Jones went on to become heavyweight champion, while Reyes was knocked out in his next three fights.
The 35-year-old now enters his 13th octagon appearance with a two-fight win streak, finishing Dustin Jacoby and Anthony Smith in his two recent bouts. Following a scary reveal that he was suffering from deep-vein thrombosis blood clots, Reyes has learned to appreciate everything to the best of his ability — even the Jones fight that was always hard to talk about.
“I’ve fully embraced it,” Reyes told MMA Fighting. “We’re linked in this moment for all eternity, man. It’s just what it is, there’s no other way around it. People are going to remember this fight forever, for the rest of my life. They’re going to talk about it. They’re going to come up to me on the streets and say, ‘Hey man, you won that fight.’ That’s just what it is, man.
“I fought the greatest fighter of all-time and I put it on him, and people all saw it with their own eyes, and everybody has different feelings about it, and I’ve just come to accept it. I’m proud of what I did that night, and there’s really nothing else I could say about it. I’m proud of what I did, and nothing I say is going to change the outcome. I’m very aware of that, and I know what happened that night, and he knows what happened that night and the world knows what happened that night, happened that night. Immediately after the fight when I was talking to Joe Rogan, I said it was 3-2, and that’s what it is. I’m honest with myself, I’m honest with everything, and it’s cool to have that to have done that. I’m proud to have done that.
“It’s insane that I did that. It’s just so freaking cool, right? And then I have that memory — whether it was a loss or whatever — I still performed on a level that no one’s ever seen. I think that’s just the bottom line.”
Jones eventually vacated the title and then submitted Ciryl Gane at UFC 285 in March 2023 to become heavyweight champion. “Bones” has only defended that title once, stopping Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 this past November in a fight many fans were not clamoring for — especially since the UFC crowned an interim champ in Tom Aspinall a year prior.
Now with the MMA world wanting to see Jones vs. Aspinall in a title unification bout, Jones’ fighting future remains a mystery. Reyes has been in a somewhat similar situation before, and was asked if his showing against Jones helped mold the now two-division champ into having a prize-fighting mentality.
“I think he started thinking, ‘I’m on my way out, these guys are catching up to me, I need to start getting this big money so that I could retire on on top,’” Reyes said. “He wants to retire on top. Everybody forgets that he vacated the belt to not have to fight me again. That’s a real thing that actually happened like because I was quote-unquote, too dangerous for what they were going to pay him. That’s what it is, like I’m not talking crap or anything. That’s literally what happened.
“So I think he decided that, ‘Hey man, if I’m going to fight again, these guys are getting closer to taking my GOAT status or my undefeated record away, my immortality, my invincible kind of aura away, so I need to be very careful with who I fight next. I need to make sure I’m compensated enough to make it worth it, so if I do lose, it doesn’t matter. I’m super rich and nobody can tell me anything.’”
Through his faith, Reyes feels more “free,” finding a new appreciation for life and fighting. “The Devastator” doesn’t overthink things as much, and has a positive perspective towards everything — even the losses.
While he is taking things one fight at a time, Reyes would be lying if he hasn’t thought about what could be awaiting him if he defeats Krylov, and then picks up another win or two.
Should Reyes get a third chance to become UFC champion, and actually have Dana White wrap that title around his waist, he’d be one of the few fighters to have his cake and eat it too.
“I’ll tell you one thing, I’ll definitely be crying,” Reyes explained. “I mean, I can already feel the emotion of that happening. It would’ve felt great that night too [winning the belt against Jon], believe me, but it’ll definitely feel like, man, I climbed this mountain, fell all the way down to the bottom of the mountain, started climbing again, and a bunch of shit started happening and I got all the way back up and made it. I finally made it six years later. Six years later, I finally made it.
“That’s like a testament to human perseverance, man, what we’re capable of and if you don’t give up and you believe in your dreams, and you keep fighting and you keep getting up, you could do it, and that’s inspiring for me to even just think about. If I saw that not being myself, I would be inspired by it.”
