Former rival blasts Jon Jones for refusing to fight Tom Aspinall and says: 'He ran away from me too'

Jones (left) faces Reyes (right). Photo: Reproduction / YouTube @ufc

The recent soap opera involving Jon Jones e Tom aspinall, which culminated in the American's retirement and the British fighter's promotion from interim to full champion, tarnished Bones' image with some fans and the MMA community in general. Among them, his former rival Dominick reyes.

Defeated controversially in his last title defense. Jon Jones in the light heavyweight division (up to 93 kg), in 2020, 'Devastador' gave his opinion on the matter in a recent appearance on the 'Pound-4-Pound' podcast and accused the former champion of 'running away' from a rematch with him in the past.

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"He just keeps stringing everyone along. He lies, says one thing, then says another. He's not real, man. That's why everyone gets mad at him, because he just wants to mess with us. After our fight, I spent the whole year asking for a rematch. He dropped the belt and moved up to heavyweight. People forget that too. He ran away from me," Reyes said.

Jon Jones e Dominick reyes faced each other in the main fight of the UFC 247, in February 2020. On that occasion, 'Bones' emerged victorious by unanimous decision, a result that divided opinions in the MMA community, with many experts and fans believing that the challenger had done enough to emerge victorious.

The loss to Jones started a terrible run for Dominick reyes, who suffered four consecutive knockout losses in the Octagon. After nearly two years away, however, the former challenger turned things around in 2024, has now won three straight and faces the third-ranked fighter, Carlos Ulberg, in the main fight of UFC Perth, on September 27, in Australia.