Dominick Reyes didn’t just brush against greatness—he came within inches of rewriting history. When ‘The Devastator’ stepped into the Octagon against Jon Jones at UFC 247, he delivered twenty-five minutes of defiance against the sport’s most untouchable figure. His performance wasn’t just competitive; it was sacrilegious in the eyes of many. He pushed the man widely considered MMA’s GOAT to the absolute brink. Fourteen of twenty-one media outlets saw an upset, a seismic shift in the sport’s hierarchy.

But when the judges’ scorecards were read, history stood still—Jon Jones was declared the winner by unanimous decision. To this day, that verdict lingers as one of the most fiercely debated in the annals of combat sports. Coming within a breath of toppling a seemingly invincible titan isn’t just remarkable—it’s the stuff of legend. Yet, despite teetering on the edge of championship glory, Reyes kept his experience buried in silence. ‘The Devastator’ resurfaced on The Gypsy Tales podcast, where a single question about his clash with Jon Jones pried open a vault of long-guarded truths.

The 35-year-old pointed out how Jones’s teammates tried to leak some inside information about the champion. However, much to the credit of Reyes, he decided to not listen to them because he wanted to win on his own terms. While speaking to the host, he said, “I looked at all his decisions he made. It was kind of messed up because former training partners and coaches that he worked with were like trying to contact me and like, ‘Hey man, I know Jon’s schedule and all these things you want.’ I am like, ‘Dude, I don’t know I’m going to do this straight up. I don’t need your guy’s intel because everybody wants to see Jon lose.'” 

For those unfamiliar, Reyes’ war with Jones marked the champion’s final stand at light heavyweight. In the aftermath of that grueling battle, Jones stepped away from the sport for three years before reemerging as a heavyweight.

Yet, despite the scare Reyes put into him that night, ‘Bones’ remains virtually untouched. After nearly two decades at the pinnacle of MMA, with a legacy few can rival, ‘Bones’ remains as driven as ever—his hunger for victory undiminished, his will to win as fierce as the day he first stepped into the cage. However, the now heavyweight champion still doesn’t credit Reyes for his performance that night. He recently took to his X account to share a message for his former rival.

Jon Jones reminds Dominick Reyes of what exactly happened that night

Last July, Jon Jones took to X account with a blunt message, suggesting that certain fighters cling to his name just to stay relevant. According to him, Dominick Reyes is one of them. But anyone who watched their battle at UFC 247 knows the truth: Reyes had Jones questioning himself inside that cage. Even ‘Bones’ admitted he had to dig deep to survive. Yet, as we’ve seen time and again, Jones has a habit of shifting his stance when it suits him. According to him, Reyes didn’t just do enough to shift the fight in his favor. Although the fight went the full distance, it was ‘Bones’ who did the more damage which resulted in him being the winner.

Jones shared a tweet on his X that read as, “What a claim to fame, almost beat John Jones. Got full of myself and literally couldn’t win another fight… Dominic, when you look back at our fight, I don’t want you to ever question me or those judges. Look at your own heart, your own endurance, you didn’t do enough. The sooner you accept that, the better athlete you’ll become.”

 Harsh words from a man who had his hand raised. But why the bitterness? Perhaps Jones envies the admiration Reyes received after their fight—the kind of respect that doesn’t hinge on a judge’s decision. Win or not, fans will always remember Reyes as the man who came razor-close to dethroning him.

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