Dominick Reyes got some valuable advice from fellow Jon Jones foe Ovince Saint Preux.

In February 2020, Reyes saw his undefeated streak snapped at the hands of Jones via unanimous decision. More than five years later, fans are still debating the controversial scorecard, with many suggesting that ‘The Devastator’ did more than enough to unseat ‘Bones’ as the UFC’s light heavyweight world champion.

About four years before Reyes got his only crack at Jones, Saint Preux had the opportunity to fight the consensus GOAT at UFC 194, and later offered some valuable advice to Reyes regarding one of Jones’ more unsavory tactics inside the Octagon.

“It was my third five-round fight,” Reyes said on the Pound-4-Pound podcast while looking back on his UFC 247 title tilt against Jones. “My best partner is my little brother, who mimics anyone better than they fight. OSP showed me how Jones tries to finger poke in the face. I punched down on his fingers because of OSP’s advice. Don’t let him do anything he wants to do. Jon Jones is a genius. He tries to make you fight his fight and then make you pay.

“My hands are better than his. He doesn’t understand his range very well. He wants to be touching you, elbowing, grappling in safer places. He knows the game from being champion so long, but my thing was never let him do what he wants.”

While fans clamored for an immediate rematch between Reyes and Jones, ‘Bones’ ultimately opted to vacate the 205-pound title for a heavyweight run that wouldn’t come until three years later.

Dominick Reyes looks to extend his win streak in The Land Down Under

As for Reyes, the loss to Jones kickstarted a four-fight losing streak that saw him surrender knockout losses to Jan Blachowicz, Jiri Prochazka, and Ryan Spann. However, ‘The Devastator’ has seemingly turned back the clock in recent years, stringing together a trio of highlight-reel finishes against Dustin Jacoby, Anthony Smith, and Nikita Krylov.

Reyes will look to make it four in a row this September when he meets the always dangerous Carlos Ulberg in a Fight Night headliner in Perth, Australia.

Craig Pekios

Craig Pekios is a freelance writer born and raised in Bettendorf, IA. Joining LowKick MMA in May 2022, Craig has more than 4,000 articles published that focus on the world of MMA and boxing, including news, event previews, results, analysis, and op-eds.