Rogan questions Jon Jones’ motivation, says Reyes ‘will be even better’ in rematch

Bloodyelbow.com

Through his performance at UFC 247 against Jon Jones, Dominick Reyes was able to prove that he can hang with the elite. “The Devastator,” however, fell short in his efforts, losing via a contested unanimous decision verdict.

All about Jon ‘Bones’ Jones

Based on how he did against Jones, the 30-year-old Reyes is now expected to put on a better performance in a possible rematch. Veteran UFC analyst Joe Rogan, for one, is looking forward to see how Reyes would do.

“I’m excited to see that rematch,” Rogan said on Saturday’s Fight Companion episode (transcript by MMA Fighting). “I think Dominick Reyes will be even better in the rematch. I think Dominick Reyes realizes now that it’s all about having the energy in that third, fourth, and fifth round, and having now been to the top of the mountain and faced the dragon, I think he’s gonna come back better than ever.

“Reyes has got that rub now,” he added. “Reyes is gonna come into that second fight knowing he came a c-nt hair away from being the light heavyweight champion of the world. One judge gave it to Jon four rounds to one which is f—ng embarrassingly bad but other than that…”

It can also be said that Jones isn’t the same dominant fighter that he was in the early 2010’s, when he barrelled through the likes of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and Vitor Belfort, among others. For Rogan, it could be a motivation issue.

“You’ve got to wonder how much of that slowing down is his enthusiasm, how much of it is physical?,” he said. “Maybe if a big fight comes up like a Stipe Miocic fight, or Francis [Ngannou].

“He had a couple of years off because of all his troubles outside of the octagon. Two years where he really wasn’t fighting. But other than that, he’s had nine solid years against world-championship caliber fighters.”

Prior to the Reyes fight, Jones was also pushed to the edge by Thiago Santos at UFC 239. The fight ended via split decision, a first in Jones’ career.