“The last year has been great,” he said. “I’ve had the opportunity to get a nice string of wins, starting with Alexander Gustafsson, who was my biggest rival. And to get past him the way I did, it just goes to show you where life’s heading. That felt so good to me. It was a big test in my life that showed myself a lot. Thiago Santos and Anthony Smith are great fighters who a lot of people were expecting a lot out of, and I proved a lot to myself and to the fans that I’m ready for the next wave of talent.”
That wave is led by the unbeaten Reyes, who is perfect in six trips to the Octagon, including knockouts of Chris Weidman and Jared Cannonier. And while Jones is shockingly the elder statesman in this bout against the 30-year-old Californian, he’s embracing being the veteran at the top of the division.
“I want to get these guys while they’re young, while they’re confident, so I can crush their confidence now and then in the rematch we’ll have a nice blueprint to really, really crush them,” said Jones, who expects to get a fight out of “The Devastator.”
“I predict that I’m going to get the absolute best Dominick Reyes, but that’s what you get when you’re fighting a contender in his first title shot. You get the best version of that person. That’s all I’m used to.”