Jones Opens As -455 Favorite Over Reyes

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Reigning Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, will make his next 205-pound title defense against top contender, Dominick Reyes, at the promotion’s return to Houston, Texas on Feb. 8, 2020.

And he’ll do it as the -455 betting favorite, according to BetMGM via MMA Junkie, who also pegged Ferguson as the +300 underdog.

Reyes earned his shot at the longtime champion after winning his first six fights inside the Octagon, which includes wins over Volkan Oezdemir, Jared Cannonier and Ovicne St. Preux, among others.

In his most recent outing, “The Devastator” knocked out former UFC Middleweight champion, Chris Weidman, in the very first round at UFC on ESPN 6 inside TD Garden in Boston, Mass. (see it again here).

Now, the 29-year old striker will look to be the one to end Jon’s long reign at 205 pounds by handing him his first true loss in mixed martial arts (MMA).

Meanwhile, Jones is coming in hotter than ever, as he scored three successful title defenses in the span of just seven months. During that streak, “Bones” took out Alexander Gustafsson (again), as well as Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith.

A win over Reyes will get Jones that much closer to completely cleaning out the division, and perhaps inch him closer to finally moving up the the Heavyweight division.

In the co-headlining act of the yet-to-be numerically-named event, women’s Flyweight champion, Valentina Shevchenko will defend her belt against Katlyn Chookagian, while Houston native, Derrick Lewis, will welcome Ilir Latifi to the 265-pound weight class.