UFC 253: Dominick Reyes vows to emerge from Jon Jones’ shadow and build his own light heavyweight legacy
- Controversial decision defeat by ‘Bones’ leaves Reyes with ‘chip on my shoulder’ ahead of Fight Island co-main event
- ‘I’m just righting a wrong and taking my crown,’ says ‘The Devastator’, who faces Jan Blachowicz for vacant title
The shadow of Jon Jones still lingers over the UFC’s light heavyweight division and there’s no escaping the fact it’s going to do so for some time still, given the American fighter was widely considered among the best the sport has seen before vacating his belt in search of fresh challenges up among the heavyweights.
It’s been hanging around the lead up to Sunday’s UFC 253, too, and the bout between the American No 1-ranked Dominick Reyes (12-1) and Poland’s third-ranked Jan Blachowicz (26-8) to decide who lifts the belt so recently in Jones’ possession.
UFC boss Dana White was asked during the pre-fight press conference what was ahead for the pair and acknowledged thoughts of Jones were not too far away. “It always sucks – you gotta beat the man to be the man kinda thing,” he said. But the opportunity was now there for one of these two fighters to consign such thoughts to history.
Reyes certainly feels the time – and his time – to do so is now, having come closer than anyone to dethroning Jones, when beaten by a unanimous decision in February that was debated in many quarters after he’d taken matters right up to the champion across five full rounds.
“I have a little bit of a chip on my shoulder from that fight. I’m just righting a wrong and taking my crown,” Reyes told international media.
