Jon Jones defended his UFC light heavyweight title with a victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 247. The fight took place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
The judges scored the fight 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 in favour of Jon Jones. It was the scorecard of the third judge which was controversial. Joe Solis who was the third judge scored the fight 49-46. He had Jones winning four of the five rounds.
This came as a shock to MMA fans who saw the fight quite differently. Reyes had Jones in trouble early in the fight. He dominated the first three rounds with his superior stand-up game not allowing Jones to take him down.
Joe Rogan on the Jon Jones vs Dominick Reyes scorecard
UFC commentator Joe Rogan was extremely mad at the decision of Joe Solis. He went off at the judges during the UFC 247 live broadcast.
“I can’t argue about this enough,” Rogan said. “I can’t get angry enough. I’ve done it so many times. For anyone to think that was 4-1 Jon Jones, that person’s insane.
“They’re insane. Dominick Reyes put on a hell of a fight tonight. And to disrespect that performance by that kind of judging is insane.”
Dana White on the judging at UFC 247
UFC president Dana White also spoke about the atrocious judging at UFC 247. He said that the reason for this was because of the inexperience of the Nevada State Athletic Commissions.
It’s true in some sense as well. Texas rarely gets big fights as the majority of them end up in Las Vegas or California.
“One of the problems with Texas is that these guys don’t have a lot of big fight experience. Mark Rattner and Hunter Campbell need to work with the Texas Athletic Commission to, you know, try and make these things better.
“You know, they have to realize that what they take away from these guys, when they put people in there that let’s just say don’t have the experience or maybe even the knowledge, to be a part of these big fights.
“If you make it into the UFC, you don’t even have to be at the Jon Jones or Dominick Reyes level of the fight. The first prelim of the night. These kids finally made it to the UFC and a lot is at stake. You cannot put the wrong people in these fights. Even with some of the reffing tonight. You know, it is one of these things that we are always going to battle.” Dana White told Aaron Bronsteter of TSN. (H/T – BJPenn.com)
Here’s how Twitter reacted to the decision.
Dominick Reyes out to "Grinding All My Life" by Nipsey Hussle
Jon Jones to "God Gave Me Style" by 50 Cent and "The Champ is Here" by Jadakiss#UFC247
— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) February 9, 2020
The judges after scoring the Jon Jones vs Dominick Reyes fight#UFC247 https://t.co/qiy2iVnbFa
— MMA India (@MMAIndiaShow) February 9, 2020
This is who the judges for Jon Jones vs Dominick Reyes were #UFC247 pic.twitter.com/CDmq0qH6qm
— MMA India (@MMAIndiaShow) February 9, 2020
Everyone on MMA Twitter:
Jones 3-2 or Reyes 3-2.A professional paid judge:
4-1 Jones.When fans do a better job scoring fights. You know the system is fucked.#UFC247
— Dovy🔌 (@DovySimuMMA) February 9, 2020
For me Reyes secured rounds 1 and 2 and Jones got rounds 4 and 5.
It all comes down to how you scored the 3rd round.
This was not a robbery. It was a very close fight.#UFC247
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) February 9, 2020
Me celebrating Reyes' win and then hearing Bruce Buffer read out 49-46 Jones #UFC247 pic.twitter.com/6qzyfAoxvS
— Castor Troy (@CastorTroySRB) February 9, 2020
"Did Dominick Reyes beat him [Jon Jones] by decision tonight? Clearly you heard the boos. Some people thought he did" – Joe Rogan#UFC247 pic.twitter.com/NkWr0HeYwd
— UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) February 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/icamerongrant/status/1226426460853850113?s=20
Helluva fight from @DomReyes and one day he’ll be a GREAT @ufc champion. Congrats @JonnyBones, the GOAT on his record setting performance. Huge respect to you both. Great night of fights!
👏🏾👏🏾👊🏾 #UFC247— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) February 9, 2020
Dominick Reyes is handling this loss with the utmost class. I would be raging if I was him. Jones winning isn’t bogus, but a 49-46 scorecard for him is. #UFC247
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohnMMA) February 9, 2020
I found the judge who who scored 49-46 for Jones. #UFC247 pic.twitter.com/8TIp29jO8Z
— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) February 9, 2020
Wait wait 49-46??? #UFC247 pic.twitter.com/KANVYRirLg
— Tommy Toe Hold (@TommyToeHold) February 9, 2020
Israel adesanya after watching Jon Jones get outclassed #UFC247 pic.twitter.com/SUBcR4mEHT
— . (@scarface300_) February 9, 2020
The 3 judges of Jones vs Reyes #UFC247 pic.twitter.com/cgu7bZUtba
— DJ RMJ (@officialdjrmj) February 9, 2020
Reyes won. Judging is rigged. #UFC247 pic.twitter.com/INZJYmeXtV
— 🎃🧱𝙱𝚁𝙸𝙲𝙺𝙷𝙾𝚄𝚂𝙴𝙲𝚁𝙾𝚄𝚂𝙴🧱🎃 (@BrickHouseBHC) February 9, 2020
Me trying to figure out how Jones beat Reyes #UFC247 https://t.co/X3kHYuqDy3
— Noah / Darnold breakout szn (@PrimeKorver26) February 9, 2020
Y’all really need to stop calling every closely contested title fight “a robbery”. That fight was so close, it genuinely could have gone either way. Just because it didn’t go the way you personally wanted it to, it doesn’t make it a “robbery”. #UFC247
— Jordan Patu (@Jordan_Patu) February 9, 2020
#UFC247 Reyes did not whine, Reyes did not cry. Reyes is a fucking warrior
— unBROKEN MMA (@richiemgr) February 9, 2020
I can see 48-47 Jones but that 49-46 shows that MMA judging is one of the most preposterous systems in sports #UFC247
— Weasle (@ThaWeasle) February 9, 2020
Dom Reyes: *wins 3 out of 5 rounds in a fight scored round-by-round*
Houston judges:#UFC247 pic.twitter.com/xNTUTcF48j
— George Stojsavljevic (@gstojsav) February 9, 2020
Was able to see the last 3 rds of this epic fight…Thk u @SonyLIV What an awesome fight @JonnyBones & @DomReyes #UFC247 will look fwd to seeing that one run bk @MMAIndiaShow https://t.co/t4zYhB1P5W
— Parvin Dabas (@parvindabas) February 9, 2020
#UFC247 The judges scoring the fight pic.twitter.com/tn6jsU8kkY
— Я i c o🧘🏻♂️ (@younghayabusaa) February 9, 2020
Jon Jones haters trying to explain why he lost
#UFC247 https://t.co/9zkjpJVKFS
— Cam Rellim (@YugiMMA) February 9, 2020
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UFC 247 results: Jon Jones escapes defeats Dominick Reyes via controversial decision