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Joe Rogan believes Jon Jones has a tough night ahead of him at UFC 247.
Despite sporting an undefeated professional record (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC), with wins over the likes of Chris Weidman, Volkan Oezdemir and Ovince Saint Preux, Dominick Reyes will enter UFC 247 as a considerable underdog when he takes on reigning light heavyweight champ Jon Jones.
Many expect Reyes to be a walk in the park for Jones, but longtime UFC commentator and podcast host Joe Rogan, who has called Jones’ fights since the JacksonWink talent first made his UFC debut back in 2008, believes ‘The Devastator’ will be ‘Bones’s’ toughest opponent since Daniel Cormier.
“I believe that Dominick Reyes is the most dangerous fighter Jon Jones has faced since Daniel Cormier,” Rogan said on a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, per MMA Fighting. “I think Dominick Reyes presents a very unique set of challenges. First of all the length. The undefeated record, he is 12-0. There is confidence that comes with undefeated records, and Dominick is extremely confident. He’s a believer in himself and that belief in himself has led him to stop guys like Chris Weidman, to knock out OSP with one second to go. He’s got belief in his power. He’s got legit one-punch knockout power. He has great footwork and movement. He just had the opportunity to see Jon struggle with Thiago Santos [and] he has a style, he can mimic that kind of success, the chopping at the legs.”
With that said, Rogan believes Jones will rise to the occasion and prove to everyone why he’s the undisputed pound-for-pound king.
“I think this is a dangerous fight for Jon, but I also think Jon knows it is a dangerous fight for Jon and Jon is a champion,” Rogan added. “A real champion, the greatest champion the light heavyweight division has ever known. unquestionably, and I think he is going to rise to the occasion. I think we are going to see the best Jon Jones. I think Jon Jones needs a real threat to scare him and work him up, and I don’t know if Thiago Santos was that for him.
“Thiago Santos was a title defense and a chance for him to fight, but I don’t think that is what he gets scared of. I think Jon needs someone like Dominick Reyes, a real threat, so we see who he was in the second fight with Daniel Cormier when he head kicked DC and knocked him out [or] the second fight with Gustafsson when he smashed him. That is the real Jon Jones, Jon Jones when he’s pressed, and I think Dominick Reyes presents that kind of a problem and I think you’re gonna see a killer Jon Jones this weekend. I think he’s gonna be on fire.”
UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes takes place this Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.