Great thread. Santos had an eye-opening performance against Jones in which I thought someone who, on paper, really only had one path to win ended up making it a very close fight, even when compromised.
It makes me think that Reyes and Rakic and Walker all have at least a shot. The issue with Walker is I don’t think we have seen enough of him to really make that call. What if his cardio is only good enough to pose a threat for a round or two? What happens if and when Jones takes him down?
To me Rakic and Reyes pose the more interesting threat since I think they have diverse skill sets and have shown an ability to apply them for longer durations.
Reyes defensively seems to be really coming together with his grappling. He has confidence and precision in the standup.
Rakic is really good as a striker and a grappler. Good enough to beat someone as experienced and talented as Jones? That’s a tall order but I think he can make it a fight. Another factor is jones’ willingness or ability to wrestle. He typically had the best takedowns in the division and an amazing top game to go with it but we didn’t see much of that from him in his last two fights. A choice or more that he lacks that same ability to initiate grappling exchanges. If it’s the former, he will fight a smart bout against a Reyes or Walker and force them to fight off the mat. But if it’s the latter, the chances of a Reyes or Walker to win improve if only cause they have blitzing power and will have more chances to catch him.
