Photo by Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC Via Getty Images
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, will defend his 205-pound strap against top division contender, Dominick Reyes, at the upcoming UFC 247 pay-per-view (PPV) event on Feb. 8 in Houston, Texas.
Along the way, “The Devastator” expects “Bones” to rattle off his usual mix of pre-fight trash talk, but considers the champion’s insults to be something you would expect to hear during sibling rivalry, and not from professional fighters competing for gold.
“His trash talk is brother trash talk,” Reyes told Submission Radio. “I have brothers, he has brothers. It’s when you have a bunch of brothers and you guys are all around and it’s competition there constantly, it’s little jabs, it’s little shots about their biggest insecurities just to mess with them and get them mad, and then they do something and you’re like, ‘Mum!’. It’s the same thing, he’s like a little kid. It’s the exact same like trash talking. It’s kind of childish.”
Jones has two brothers, Chandler and Arthur, who play for the NFL. No question a family with three major sports stars has seen its share of trash talking in the home, which may explain why “Bones” is so good at rattling pussies who are still there.
“I don’t give a fuck what that guy says to me,” Reyes continued. “I don’t care at all what he says to me. Like, bro, you can say whatever you want. Say whatever you want. It’s not gonna help you. It’s not gonna save you. It’s not gonna make me not want to knock you out. It’s not gonna try to make me knock you out more. Like, I’m not dumb. You’re not just gonna [run in] arrghha and then catch [me]. Like, come on man, I thought we were professionals. Let’s go.”
The undefeated Reyes has racked up a perfect 12-0 record since kicking off his MMA career back in late 2014, roughly one month before Jones (25-1) captured back-to-back wins over Daniel Cormier and Ovince Saint Preux. I’m not sure what “The Devastator” plans to do that so many others have tried — and failed — to do before him, but anything can happen in this crazy sport.