Jon Jones vs Dominick Reyes - a closer look at the match up

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

You should put each point in a "spoiler" tag... Would save space and might get a better response on it...

 

[Iron Nick]

Good write up for an interesting fight. Smart money's on Jones, but Reyes has the tools and physical attributes to take home the belt. Will be looking forward to this one.

Thank you.
I'm extremely excited for this fight as well!

 

[BFoe]

Thanks you man, really appreciate it!

I see where you're coming from with the impression that Reyes' path might be a bit rushed and that he might be still a bit too green, but i really think that he's the worst matchup for Jones in a long time, since his defensive wrestling has looked really solid so far and his striking is quite wonderful in my eyes.
(He's fast, powerful, but especially and i can't stress this enough accurate with his boxing and his kicking and he's really fine at creating angles with his footwork as well).
As for Jones chin: yeah, it is what it is i guess, but you can have the best chin in the world, if a shot is really accurate, you're going down. Quite similar to how Whittaker was knocked down twice by Adesanya, or Conor's KO of Jose Aldo and many other examples.

And regarding Jon's fight IQ: Yeah man, as mentioned in the post, i think that while Jones is super well-rounded, what really sets him apart from so many other dominant fighters is really how smart he is when it comes to how and when to use his tools inside the cage.

Well said. I think @HI SCOTT NEWMAN is pretty right on. If I was actually betting money, I’d have to bet Jones. But I do think Jones is declining. He still looks great, but he’s not the same guy that he was in 2011. It’s to be expected. Maybe he’ll surprise me with a wrestling-heavy game plan, but I doubt it. He hasn’t seemed to work that game much his last several fights. I also think Reyes is a tougher matchup than people give him credit for, and will clip Jones off the break when they clinch.

or I could be delusional and full of shit.

 

[Iron Nick]

Huge props on putting together spreadsheets with actual data to back up your points. This thread is really well written and you should be proud.

I agree with your points about wrestling having a big influence on striking, an even more recent example is blaydes vs JDS just the other night. It’s a very prevalent factor in fights and should not be overlooked.

I agree with many of your points, especially for Doms gameplan. The difficult thing is more than any other fighter Jones has shown us he can adapt so much. We’ve seen him do basically everything you can do in an octagon. So we can play the “what can Dom do” game, at the end of the day we’ll find an example of jones beating that strategy. The terrifying thing for dom is he has to come in and adjust on the fly. I think the hardest thing against someone like jones is to stick to your style, which coincidentally is a lot of your keys to victory for Dom. So we’ll see what happens, but I don’t think it’ll be so simple as “do what you’re good at”

awesome thread and great analysis buddy

Thanks bud, it was strenuous at times to write this post, but it in the end it was worth it imo!

Yes, JDS against Blaydes is a good example of that as well!

Yeah, the game plan thing will be quite a difficult matter for Reyes (or anyone else who fights Jon in the future) but we'll see how it plays out the coming weekend!

 

[Zebra Cheeks]

You should put each point in a "spoiler" tag... Would save space and might get a better response on it...

Honestly think he’s getting some good ones so far.

 

[Rhood]

I noticed the same pattern in all of those Reyes gifs.
He catches fighters when they chase him and overextended themselves.
Almost similar to Thiago Santos.

Jones won't for that trap like other fighters.

 

[Iron Nick]

You should put each point in a "spoiler" tag... Would save space and might get a better response on it...

Thanks for the hint, maybe i'll do it tomorrow, but right now my brain feels to much like mush in order to do these "complex" edits lol.

 

[Intellidamus]

Great post! Thanks for taking the time to put that together.

 

[Takes_Two_To_Tango]

I haven't read your post TS. But I gave you a like, for the amount of effort you put into it. And also because the initial positive responses people have for your post.

Just wondering, have you written a book before?

This could very well be the longest text post on Sherdog ever.

 

[Iron Nick]

I noticed the same pattern in all of those Reyes gifs.
He catches fighters when they chase him and overextended themselves.
Almost similar to Thiago Santos.

Jones won't for that trap like other fighters.

I've seen someone mention that exact same thing before, but i have to kinda disagree with you: Reyes opponents overextend because Reyes seems hittable at times/makes his opponents overextend themselves.
I mean, elite striking really consists of setting traps and Jones striking inside the boxing range is comparatively average, especially defensively.

 

[Iron Nick]

Great post! Thanks for taking the time to put that together.

Thanks man!
Glad you've read it (or will hopefully do so soon, hehe)

 

[Iron Nick]

I haven't read your post TS. But I gave you a like, for the amount of effort you put into it. And also because the initial positive responses people have for your post.

Just wondering, have you written a book before?

This could very well be the longest text post on Sherdog ever.

Thank you haha!

I have not written a book before, but if i'm being honest a post like this makes me almost feel like some kind of author, haha.

 

[91 seconds]

Damn bro, that was quite thorough lol. I've been watching some of Reyes fights and one thing I've noticed is that his a lot of his opponents at some point go "all in" and some of your gifs show a glimpse of this. I suppose this comes out of frustration but they always fall short where Reyes then capitalizes on it. One thing I've noticed with Jones over the years is that he never does this (or he's never put into a situation where he has to) The guy is one of the most calculated fighters I think I've ever seen in mma. I think a lot of that has to do with the camp he's in. I fully expect Jackson/Wink to want this fight slowed down, always keeping Reyes hesitant and on his back foot if he decides to go after him. I'm thinking we will see his Dahlsim technique on full display.

 

[fishjello]

Something I've NEVER wondered and now sadly know the answer to.

Does Sherdog have a Character limit.
View attachment 721917

I don't think it needs a character limit. Whether or not someone needs to simplify their thought (if even the need) should be left to them. I watched a YouTube video today on Stephen A. (whoever). He was trying to defend his stupid statement on MMA, as a tweet to Joe Rogan. But, he would "..." then again and again and again, chaining his 280 (wow, I just looked it up it was reduced to 280) character limit. People tend to appeal to shorter messages, but no reason to dictate that allowance to the degree I see here in this post.

 

[Iron Nick]

Damn bro, that was quite thorough lol. I've been watching some of Reyes fights and one thing I've noticed is that his a lot of his opponents at some point go "all in" and some of your gifs show a glimpse of this. I suppose this comes out of frustration but they always fall short where Reyes then capitalizes on it. One thing I've noticed with Jones over the years is that he never does this (or he's never put into a situation where he has to) The guy is one of the most calculated fighters I think I've ever seen in mma. I think a lot of that has to do with the camp he's in. I fully expect Jackson/Wink to want this fight slowed down, always keeping Reyes hesitant and on his back foot if he decides to go after him. I'm thinking we will see his Dahlsim technique on full display.

Thanks man, i appreciate it!
As mentioned earlier, good strikers make other do mistakes, but it's possible that there's some truth to it as well in regards to what you say. Jones is definitely extremely calculated, so it's of course not going to be easy to make him do mistakes and/or expose the bad habits of his. (Jones has a few bad habits when it comes to boxing though, especially defensively, like the not looking at his opponents when slipping punches, etc.)
Whether or not Reyes can capitalize on that we will see.

I agree with your assessment of what JacksonWink's strategy will look like. Many people liked the wild version of Jones much more, but the methodical one is definitely the better fighter, there's no two ways about it, imo.

 

[BFoe]

I don't think it needs a character limit. Whether or not someone needs to simplify their thought (if even the need) should be left to them. I watched a YouTube video today on Stephen A. (whoever). He was trying to defend his stupid statement on MMA, as a tweet to Joe Rogan. But, he would "..." then again and again and again, chaining his 280 (wow, I just looked it up it was reduced to 280) character limit. People tend to appeal to shorter messages, but no reason to dictate that allowance to the degree I see here in this post.

People have short attention spans. It’s getting to where younger people just speak and write in text slanguage. Kind of sad.
I read the OP, I ain’t scurred of words!

 

[Fight Professor]

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Well said. I think @HI SCOTT NEWMAN is pretty right on. If I was actually betting money, I’d have to bet Jones. But I do think Jones is declining. He still looks great, but he’s not the same guy that he was in 2011. It’s to be expected. Maybe he’ll surprise me with a wrestling-heavy game plan, but I doubt it. He hasn’t seemed to work that game much his last several fights. I also think Reyes is a tougher matchup than people give him credit for, and will clip Jones off the break when they clinch.

or I could be delusional and full of shit.

Noooo you are 1000% not full of shit, MMA is so unpredictable, its so subjective, anything can happen, you are not making claims that CM Punk will KO Jones with a spinning kick lol. Reyes might be the real deal and he is undefeated.. I just would like to see more and against better guys to be sure, but it is what it is. LHW is so bare and Jones has fought most of them already.

Jones has this weird thing of wanting to fight the style of his opponents strongest weapons, and if he does then that will help Reyes I think, but Jones is a crafty guy.. he might go full division 1 and go for chokes and ground 'n' pound straight away, and he has some really good ground 'n' pound.

I want it to be a good fight though and something to get excited about, Jones coasting with be beyond ''meh''

 

[felmmando]

Leave it to a Jon Jones Dominick Reyes thread for TS to somehow mention & downplay Conor McGregor

I didn't get the sense that he was "downplaying" Conor McGregor (Is it possible to play down something that is only tangentially relevant?). I thought he was using Nurmagomedov vs. McG as an example of when a superior striker becomes more vulnerable to the striking of an opponent with great wrestling.

 

[91 seconds]

Thanks man, i appreciate it!
As mentioned earlier, good strikers make other do mistakes, but it's possible that there's some truth to it as well in regards to what you say. Jones is definitely extremely calculated, so it's of course not going to be easy to make him do mistakes and/or expose the bad habits of his. (Jones has a few bad habits when it comes to boxing though, especially defensively, like the not looking at his opponents when slipping punches, etc.)
Whether or not Reyes can capitalize on that we will see.

I agree with your assessment of what JacksonWink's strategy will look like. Many people liked the wild version of Jones much more, but the methodical one is definitely the better fighter, there's no two ways about it, imo.

Yeah, his boxing is his weakest point. This is why we see a ton of those oblique kicks keeping his opponent at a distance. When they get close enough he either ties them up(Glover) or sprints away(Rampage). That second Cormier fight I noticed Daniel tried to implement a more straight forward boxing styles going after Jones, trying to close the distance. I didn't think he was doing that bad of a job but we all know what happened.