MMA
Dominick Reyes in favor of open scoring after loss to Jon Jones, confident rematch will happen
Dominick Reyes is still in disbelief over Jon Jones' controversial unanimous decision victory at UFC 247.
Reyes, appearing on "Ariel Helwani's MMA Show" on Monday, not only doubled down on saying he defeated the UFC light heavyweight champion, but also joined the groundswell of MMA fans, fighters and pundits calling for the company to switch over to an open scoring system, which would give fighters the opportunity to know judges' scores live round-by-round.
"Yeah ... just yes," Reyes said with a deep sigh.
This comes after judges scored the bout 48-47, 48-47 and 49-46 in favor of Jones. The last of the scores was the most egregious, as it inexplicably awarded Jones four rounds to one, even though the fight was clearly much tighter than that.
James Krause, who lost to Trevin Giles by decision in the prelims, also called for a shift to the open scoring system while speaking with Helwani on Monday. The same judge who scored it four rounds to one for Jones gave Giles the nod in the first round, despite Krause having his back for roughly four minutes in the frame.
Max Holloway, checking out the action from over the weekend, also tweeted about judges' scoring needing a change.
That said, Reyes firmly believes he'll be granted a rematch with Jones.
"I believe so," Reyes told Helwani about running it back with "Bones." "If the fans put enough pressure on Jones, put enough pressure on the UFC and they want to see it, then I'm sure we'll get that rematch. I know I deserve it. I mean, it should be a rematch for him trying to get his belt back. That should be the rematch."
Despite not being able to walk away with the light heavyweight hardware, Reyes feels like he departed Houston with something else in tow.
"A lot of people got to see me for who I am," he said. "A lot of people didn't really know a lot about me before this fight. They didn't know what I had in me. The respect I gained from around the world from this fight does mean a lot to me.
"The judges ... it sucks," he said.
"I'm considering myself the people's champ."
Reyes (12-1) also let fans in on what Jones allegedly told him in the Octagon after their five-round war.
"He was very complimentary on my performance," Reyes said of the long-reigning champ. "He said I shocked him. He didn't really expect that from me. He thanked me for making him a better martial artist. He said our rematch is going to be epic."
