Dominick Reyes has spoken out on that final round of his bout with Jon Jones.
Reyes and Jones traded leather in the main event of UFC 247 this past Saturday night (Feb. 8). The bout didn’t end without controversy. Jones was awarded the unanimous decision victory but many fans and media members had “The Devastator” winning the fight 48-47. One judge had a score total of 49-46, which is widely considered to be egregious.
Dominick Reyes Talks Fifth Round Against Jon Jones
With two of the scorecards being 48-47, Jones was able to snag the fight with his performance in the fifth round. Reyes was backing up throughout the final frame and it gave off the sense that Jones was stalking him. Speaking to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani, Reyes explained why he was backpedaling in the final round.
“Yeah, I wish I would have knocked him out. I wish I could have finished the fight but I felt like I was being a little tactical there too at the end. I felt like I was winning and I didn’t want to put myself in too much danger. You’ve got to be technical with your approach as well.”
Reyes added that he felt his cardio was fine throughout the fight. He claimed to have simply been conservative in the final round as he felt he’d already done enough to win and was trying to avoid getting caught.
Reyes’ loss to Jones is the first defeat of his professional MMA career. His record now drops to 12-1. With his victory, Jones has now made three successful title defenses in his current reign as the UFC light heavyweight champion.
Time will tell what’s next for Reyes and Jones. UFC president Dana White has said he doesn’t want to make a decision until both men have fully healed from their five-round war.
