Man, I was thinking about that Jon Jones versus Dominick Reyes fight the other day. UFC 247, right? Still sticks in my mind, that one.
I remember watching it live. Edge of my seat stuff, honestly. Reyes came out like a house on fire, really put it on Jones early. I was genuinely thinking, ‘Wow, Jones might actually lose this’. He looked faster, sharper in those first couple of rounds.
Then Jones being Jones, he weathered it. Started walking Reyes down, landing those kicks, doing his thing in the championship rounds. But man, it was close. When they read the decision, and Jones got the nod, the whole room I was in just erupted. Half cheering, half booing.
My Own Look-Back
So, last weekend, I actually decided to sit down and rewatch the whole thing properly. No beers, no buddies yelling, just me and the fight recording. I wanted to see if my memory matched reality, you know?
Here’s what I did:
- Round 1 & 2: Focused purely on Reyes’ output and Jones’ reaction. Yeah, Reyes definitely landed more clean shots, looked like he was dictating things. I marked those down clearly for Reyes in my head.
- Round 3: This was the swing round for many. Watched it twice. Reyes slowed a bit, Jones started finding his range more, but Reyes still landed some good stuff. Super close. Hard to score definitively, even on rewatch.
- Round 4 & 5: Jones clearly took over here. The pressure, the takedown attempts (even if not all successful), the control against the cage, the fatigue on Reyes’ face. These felt like Jones rounds.
After watching it back carefully, breaking it down like that, I gotta say… it’s still ridiculously close. I can see the argument for Reyes winning 3 rounds to 2, absolutely. Those first two were his, and round 3 was arguably his too. But I can also see how judges, valuing the championship rounds and Jones’ pressure and control later on, gave it to him. It wasn’t a robbery, like some folks scream about, but man, it was razor thin.
It kinda reminds me of judging anything subjective, really. Like back when I used to do a bit of amateur woodwork, showing stuff at local fairs. You’d pour hours into getting a joint perfect, something technically difficult, but the judge might just like the flashy look of someone else’s piece, even if it was simpler. You felt you’d done the ‘harder’ work, put in more ‘effective’ effort, but the criteria, or how they’re seen, just fall differently sometimes. It’s frustrating, but it’s part of the game, whether it’s fighting or wood carving, I guess.
So, my final take? After sitting down and really going through it methodically, I lean slightly towards Reyes maybe edging it based on damage and impactful moments early on. But Jones’ control and late pressure make the official decision understandable, even if I don’t fully agree. It’s one of those fights where there’s no single right answer, just strong opinions. Definitely one for the history books. Made for some great arguments down the pub afterwards, that’s for sure.
