Dominick Reyes thinks Jon Jones should pay for his recent actions in the octagon – and he’d like to be the man to do it.
On the night of the UFC’s Hall of Fame ceremony at which he was being inducted for his first fight against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165, Jones was arrested and booked into jail by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on charges of misdemeanor battery domestic violence and felony tampering with a vehicle.
Jones (26-1 MMA, 20-1 UFC) allegedly assaulted and bloodied his fiancée and mother of his three children, who fled downstairs with the kids and sought assistance from casino security after the alleged incident took place in their room.
“It’s terrible that it’s a domestic situation and his kids were there and they saw,” Reyes told Fanatics View. “That’s the worst part about the whole thing. The guy needs help. He’s got serious, serious sh*t going on.”
Jones, who cited alcohol as the main issue behind his actions, has been involved in a slew of legal issues throughout his MMA career. His recent past troubles include a hit-and-run in April 2015, a traffic stop for drag racing in March 2016, pleading no contest to a battery charge in September 2019, and multiple charges from an arrest in March 2020 that included driving under the influence and negligent use of a firearm.
The former light heavyweight king is due in court Oct. 26 and while Reyes (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) thinks Jones should be punished, he hopes to get an opportunity to avenge his 2020 title-fight loss to him – a bout many people thought he won.
“That’s definitely not OK,” Reyes said. “It’s not a good look for anyone involved, whether it’s the organization, whether it’s Jon, or whether it’s his family. No matter what, it’s all bad. This isn’t his first offense, but that’s up to the organization to decide. Me personally, I have a little ‘keep this guy around so I can beat him up again’ kind of thing. Overall, not a lot of words on it, man. It’s just not a good look. Being one of the greatest of all time and doing all that, man, get over it. That chip on your shoulder, whatever it is, just get over it, man. You’re one of the best fighters in the world. I don’t understand why.”
As things stand, it’s highly unlikely Reyes gets his wish. With Jones gearing up for his heavyweight debut and Reyes looking to get back to title contention after back-to-back stoppage losses to Jan Blachowicz and Jiri Prochazka, their paths may never cross.
But Reyes still won’t rule out the possibility.
“Well, as my body changes and adapts, I’ll gain more weight and become a bigger person overall,” Reyes said. “Maybe I will end up in the heavyweight division by the end of this whole thing. But right now, I’m a light heavyweight. He was talking about going back to light heavyweight. I don’t know, man.”
Dominick Reyes hopes UFC keeps Jon Jones after latest arrest so he can ‘beat him up again’