DC: Jones teasing LHW return suggests he was ‘afraid’ of Reyes

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The former heavyweight and light heavyweight champion doesn’t understand why Jon Jones is so willing to abandon his heavyweight plans for Jan Blachowicz, unless he just didn’t want to fight them Blachowicz beat.

Even at the winning-est, most consistently performing points in his UFC career Jon Jones has always come across as a somewhat mercurial personality. The kind of man who, can be seen online telling people to just stay home and do nothing one day, and then find himself getting charged with driving while intoxicated and negligent use of a firearm just a few days later.

So perhaps it should come as no surprise that his long teased move to heavyweight is coming with just as much potential for course reversal.

“Obviously, if Jon Jones wanted that fight, we wouldn’t deny Jon Jones the opportunity,” Dana White said of a potential bout against Jan Blachowicz, shortly after the Polish powerhouse picked up Jones’ recently vacated light heavyweight title with a second round TKO over Dominick Reyes.

Whether or not Jones is actually interested enough in chasing Blachowicz down for a bout remains to be seen, but he’s at least giving the notion some thought.

And while that may just be a case of Jones once again chasing the latest new idea in front of him, Daniel Cormier sees a little something else in the whole situation. The longtime rival to Jones and former two-division champion was back on his regular web-cast with Ariel Helwani this week, where he gave a few thoughts to Jones’ sudden willingness to fight Blachowicz after leaving light heavyweight in the face of a potential Dominick Reyes rematch.

“That’s so whack,” Cormier said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “Have you ever met a guy that’s so out of touch? He’s out of touch. It’s like, OK, Jon, then why not just go, ‘I was afraid of Dominick Reyes. Now I want to go back to 205 and fight Jan Blachowicz because he beat Dom.’ That’s crazy. Why would he do that? I mean, who does that? Who does that?

“He could have fought Reyes. This could have been him and Reyes. This was supposed to be him and Reyes. Instead, he gave up the belt. He gave up the belt and said, ‘I want to fight at heavyweight.’ Now, ‘Maybe, I’ll go back?’ How could you be so out of touch? I don’t get it. . . That’s your boy over there kicking people while they’re down and pretty much admitting, ‘I didn’t want to fight Dominick Reyes but I’ll fight Jan Blachowicz.’ That’s crazy.”

Cormier went on to add that, while he’s critical of Jones’ motivations, if he were in a position to still make light heavyweight (and not be retired) he’d likely be chasing that Blachowicz fight too.

“No disrespect, just because I think… it’s surprising, right?” DC said of Blachowicz’s newly crowned status as LHW champ. “When you have the footage of people getting old victories over him, you think you can do it, too. Any fighter does. And if you’re a guy like myself or Jones, then, of course, you think you can beat him. That’s why Jones will go fight him.”

Of course, Jan might have one or two things to say about that—but it doesn’t sound like DC is about to lace up the gloves again.