“I’m not going to have any regrets after this fight.”
Dominick Reyes
Dominick Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) sat down with MMA Junkie, Wednesday to discuss how he’s feeling going into Saturdays fight, and how he looks to dethrone the champ, Jon Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC).
As we approach UFC 247, there is a lot of excitement about the main event matchup between Jones and Reyes. Jones has long been king of the UFC’s light heavyweight division, which at times, has seemed lackluster of opponents that can really test the champ and give the fans an exciting fight.
During the build-up to UFC 247, Reyes has many fans excited to watch this fight and see if he’s the man to dethrone who many consider to be the greatest of all time.
“Right now I’m happy, I’m focused, I’m excited, I mean, my weight’s on point, everything’s on point,” said Reyes. “The stars are aligning, I feel it all around me, you know. Houston’s a special place, there’s been some crazy upsets here. I beat Weidman, Weidman beat Silva. There’s all kinds of juice and all this energy flowing around me, and I feel the energy.”
Reyes isn’t the only one getting the vibe of a potential Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva 1 type of fight come Saturday night. 2019’s MMA Journalist of the Year, Ariel Helwani, also mentioned in his recent article for ESPN that he feels there’s something about this fight that keeps reminding him of the night Weidman dethroned Silva for the UFC’s middleweight championship.
“I want to be clear about something right off the bat: I think a lot of people are sleeping on Dominick Reyes this weekend,” said Helwani. “In fact, I’m getting a little bit of a Chris Weidman vs. Anderson Silva 1 circa UFC 162 vibe going into Saturday. Long-reigning champion going up against relatively unknown undefeated contender whom the champion might or might not consider to be a legitimate threat,” he added. “Going into the Weidman fight, the thought was that Silva was a win away from securing that Georges St-Pierre superfight. Going into this fight, the thought seems to be that Jones is a win away from securing a heavyweight title shot.”
Reyes explained how he feels like he’s the new Jon Jones in a sense, being that there isn’t very much information and footage on him as far as his fighting style goes, and trying to figure out the perfect game plan to beat him.
“A guy like me, you dont know what I’m going to come out with,” said Reyes. “There’s not enough on me to be like, ‘this is what he’s gonna do, this is how you’re going to beat him.’ I don’t even know how to beat me, I’m so fresh in this game and I’m changing so much everyday,” he added. “I’m like a young Jon Jones.”
Since arriving in Houston, Reyes has exuded confidence in all of his pre-fight interviews and he seems to be in high spirits going into the biggest fight of his life, Saturday night.
UFC 247 is taking place in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center. The co-main event is also expected to be an exciting fight, it will be for the women’s flyweight championship where current champion, Valentina Shevchenko (18-3 MMA, 7-2 UFC) will look to defend her title for the third time against challenger, Katlyn Chookagian (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC).
Link to Ariel Helwani article:
