Jon Jones has announced that he is moving up to heavyweight after several years of dominating the UFC’s light heavyweight division.
Of course, with that announcement came some blowback. Many accused Jones of ducking current top contenders such as Jan Blachowicz, or avoiding a rematch with Dominick Reyes, who Jones defeated in a highly controversial decision this past February. Reyes himself has stated that he believes Jones’ move up to heavyweight was motivated by their last fight with one another.
“I think his ego won’t let him admit that I’m the reason [he moved up],” Reyes said. “I know he doesn’t want to rematch me. He gave up the belt. You don’t give up something you’re proud of. … You earned that s—. Why would you just give it up unless you felt like you didn’t earn it?”
Now, Jones has taken to Twitter to respond to Reyes, and anyone else thinking he’s ducking another challenge at light heavyweight. Simply put, if you believe “Bones” is avoiding fighting the likes of Reyes or Blachowicz, the former champ thinks you need a smack upside the head.
In Jones’ absence, Reyes and Blachowicz will collide for the vacant 205-pound strap. They’ll co-main event the UFC 253 pay-per-view (PPV) in September. The event has yet to receive an official venue or location, but will be headlined by a middleweight title bout between Israel Adesanya, another Jones’ rival, and Paulo Costa.
