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Jon Jones will indeed defend his UFC light-heavyweight title against Dominick Reyes, according to UFC President Dana White.
Sorry Corey Anderson, but Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes is officially happening.
Jones and Reyes are set to fight for the UFC light-heavyweight title in the Feb. 8 pay-per-view main event. The news was first reported by BJPenn.com’s Chris Taylor and later confirmed to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto by UFC President Dana White. Jones had said earlier today that the contract was sitting in his email inbox and simply needed a signature.
The contract is just sitting in my email, waiting to be printed and signed. Thanks for protecting our soil brother. https://t.co/vSUbOsJTFO
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) November 22, 2019
In his most recent stint as champion, Jones (25-1) has successfully defended the belt against Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith after defeating Alexander Gustafsson to win the vacant belt at UFC 232. Reyes (12-0) is coming off an emphatic first-round knockout of former 185-pound champion Chris Weidman at UFC Boston last month, and also boasts wins over Jared Cannonier, Ovince Saint Preux, and Volkan Oezdemir.
The booking leaves two of the division’s top contenders by the wayside: Corey Anderson, who beat Johnny Walker via first-round TKO at UFC 244, and Jan Blachowicz, who defeated Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza by split decision at UFC Sao Paulo.