UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones admitted he wasn’t sure if he was winning his fight against Dominick Reyes throughout.
Jones remains the champion after narrowly defending his title against Reyes in the UFC 247 headliner on Saturday night. Many felt Reyes had done enough to get the win, especially after his impressive performance in the first three rounds.
However, Jones rallied late on and ended the fight strong to get the unanimous verdict of the judges. Despite notching yet another win, “Bones” wasn’t always confident he was winning the fight. But he knew he was never going to give up:
“I wasn’t always confident that I was winning the fight,” Jones said at the UFC 247 post-fight press conference. “I was confident that I wasn’t going to be giving up or slowing down. Greg Jackson said to me, ‘Jon, you may need to win this fifth round to win.’ And the heart of a champion said, ‘No problem, coach. I can do that for you. I can leave it all out there.’
“And five minutes left, I think I displayed the difference between a champion and an extraordinary contender. He had all the tools, he had the endurance. Something special happens when it’s a time for the champion present himself. You guys saw it tonight in the fifth round.”
While there have been calls for an instant rematch — which Jones has been open to — he remains adamant that he did enough to win the fight. In fact, the champion believes he would edge Reyes out every single time:
“It was close but he lost,” Jones added. “He can try 1,000 times and I believe I’ll edge him every single time.”
What do you think of Jones’ comments?