[autotag]Dominick Reyes[/autotag] has studied the tape, assessed [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag]’ skills, and says he has the answers to the questions he’s likely to be posed on fight night.
Reyes (12-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) will face off against Jones for the light heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 247 on Saturday night at Toyota Center in Houston, where he will try to become the first man to defeat Jones (25-1 MMA, 19-1 UFC) in a title fight.
That task has meant Reyes spending countless hours of training, sparring and planning as “The Devastator” prepares himself for the biggest test of his career, and the undefeated 30-year-old even showed the crew at TMZ Sports one of the techniques he’s drilled to combat one of Jones’ most effective weapons.
During a visit to TMZ headquarters seven months ago, Jones demonstrated how he uses his elbows to such devastating effect during his fights. When Reyes was put on the spot and asked how he would deal with them, he was happy to demonstrate his approach.
“Two things: One, don’t lock horns,” he explained. “Two, beat him (to the punch). Strike first.”
Reyes explained that Jones likes to use the forward pressure of his opponents to set up his famous close-range elbows, and the best way to combat that is not to lock up with the UFC champ.
But if the two fighters happen to tie up in the octagon, Reyes’ plan is not to push his weight forward in an attempt to shove the champion backward. Instead, he says he could simply throw an inside elbow straight up the middle to the champ’s unguarded chin.
Obviously, hitting your opponent before they hit you isn’t exactly rocket science when it comes to MMA gameplanning. But, as Reyes explained, sometimes the most straightforward solutions are the best ones.
“It’s so simple, it just might work,” he laughed.
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Of course, it’ll take a lot more than just an inside elbow counter for Reyes to defeat Jones, but the challenger seems relaxed, confident and unruffled ahead of the matchup. If that composure translates to his performance on fight night, we could be in for a classic.
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