UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones has made up his mind: If it’s up to him, it’ll be Dominick Reyes – not Corey Anderson – who gets the next shot at his title.
Late Wednesday night, Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) said on Twitter that he and his Jackson Wink MMA coaches studied up on both Reyes and Anderson. And based on what they saw, their choice is the undefeated Reyes.
“Just finished a coaches meeting studying Dominick and Cory’s [sic] careers,” Jones tweeted. “Established Dominicks [sic] definitely the more dangerous fighter. Beating his ass next.”
As of now, this is just Jones revealing whom he’d like to fight. It’s unclear if the UFC will oblige.
Both Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) and Anderson (13-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) are coming off impressive victories to state their case as Jones’ next challenger.
Reyes, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie light heavyweight rankings, last month dismantled former middleweight champion Chris Weidman in his 205-pound debut at UFC on ESPN6. Reyes needed just 1:43 to knock out Weidman to push his UFC record to 6-0 since joining the promotion in June 2017. During his tenure, Reyes, 29, has notable wins over former title challengers Volkan Oezdemir and Ovince Saint Preux, as well as Jared Cannonier, who moved down to 185 pounds after that loss.
Anderson, meanwhile, ranked sixth at 205 pounds, is on a four-fight winning streak after stopping the heavily hyped Johnny Walker with punches in just 2:07 last Saturday at UFC 244. After the fight, 30-year-old Anderson said he either wanted a title shot or for the UFC to release him, a comment he has since clarified.
At the UFC 244 post-event news conference, UFC president Dana White was non-committal on who would be next for Jones, though he made it clear he didn’t appreciate Anderson’s fight week attitude or the ultimatum after his victory.
“Not one person clapped for him at the weigh-ins,” White said. “Walker got a pretty big pop when he came out. I bet people will notice him next time, won’t they? He came out, and he showed everybody. You did something. Now we move on. I’m not saying you’re getting a title shot next or whatever. Reyes just won too – very impressively.”
In recent weeks, Jones expressed frustration with the lack of excitement in his division. However, it now appears he’s locked in on his next target.
Jon Jones picks Dominick Reyes over Corey Anderson: 'Beating his ass next'
