Dominick Reyes and Other Big Shots React as Jon Jones Leaves Light Heavyweight Title

Long time UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones revealed that he will vacate the title. His subsequent tweets hinted at retirement, but the fighter revealed that he is moving up to heavyweight. However, the decision caught fans as well as fellow fighters unawares.

Read: BREAKING:Jon Jones Vacates Light Heavyweight Championship

They took to Twitter to air their views regarding the shocker. Some focused on the fact that ‘Bones‘ departure would allow many talented fighters a decent chance at the belt. But for many others, the move equaled to him running away from the decision, as he wasn’t as dominant in his last two matches.

First came Jon Jones’ last opponent, Dominick Reyes. ‘The Devastator’ wrote, “I’ll catch you later JB.”

Former light heavyweight fighter Jimi Manuwa termed the decision a boss move.

Middleweight fighter Derek Brunson weighed in on the move to heavyweight saying, “Jon Jones report to the scale . Heavyweight awaits you !” He hinted at a move up a weight division himself and added, “I always wanted to eat and not cut weight . LHW”

Former UFC fighter Ben Askren was excited about the move and wants  Jones to face ‘The Black Beast’. He wrote, “Much more excited for Bones Jones to fight at HWT than Light Heavy. Give him Derek Lewis 1st then title shot.”

However, it seems unlikely that Jones would vacate his championship without having gotten a guaranteed title shot somewhere down the line. Former UFC fighter and one of Jon Jones’ old foe, Chael Sonnen, aired his viewpoint regarding the same.

Fans react to Jon Jones vacating the light heavyweight title

Fans praised Jon Jones for moving as he had cleaned out the 205 lbs division in the UFC.

The running from Reyes angle got a lot of traction as fans expected this to be the champion’s next fight upon return.

Other users rubbed their hands in glee at the prospect of seeing a match against Francis Ngannou. This potential fight dominated conversations all throughout May.

Portions of the MMA world touched on Jones’ comments following UFC 252 and are envisioning him being Stipe Miocic‘s next challenger. This could be like how Daniel Cormier moved up to heavyweight in 2018.

Some users saw this as the catalyst for Daniel Cormier to make a UFC return just days after he retired.

The move is polarizing, but it is something that Jones has done to enhance his titanic legacy in the UFC. What do you feel about his move?