Dominick Reyes shares theory on why Jon Jones is moving to heavyweight

UFC light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes has a theory about why Jon Jones is moving up to the heavyweight division.

Reyes, who came up short via a controversial judges’ decision in a February showdown with Jones, will fight Jan Blachowicz for the division’s vacant throne at UFC 253 in September. Jones, meanwhile, has been teasing a move up to heavyweight after vacating the light heavyweight title earlier this week.

Reyes shared his reaction to Jones’ heavyweight move in an interview with ESPN this week.

“Aw, c’mon man!” Reyes said (via MMA Fighting). “That was my reaction. Like, c’mon bro. Seriously? That’s whack. But then it was like, alright, whatever. The show must go on. Either way I’m fighting, either way I’m going for the belt. The whole goal was to get the belt anyway. It sucks that I can’t beat Jon for it at this time. But I’ll catch him. I’ll catch him later.”

Reyes also shared a theory about Jones’ heavyweight move, suggesting the former champion is changing division’s to avoid tough challenges.

“It was a little bit shocking,” Reyes said. “But at the same time, not because I try to look at things from other peoples’ perspectives and what they’ve been through and what leads to whatever decision they make and if you look at it, Jon, I think, truly in his heart felt like he won that fight unanimously and he has nothing else to prove in the division. Either that or he’s like, ‘Hey man, I could really lose my belt to this guy. Let’s avoid that and we’ll just vacate and go up to heavyweight and make a run at the title.’ …

“He’s moving to heavyweight because those guys are slow, you do realize that, right? He can’t keep up with us anymore,” Reyes added. “After what me and Thiago did to him, he’s like, ‘Man, I need to go up. These guys are getting too fast, they’re getting too athletic, they’re getting too good. The heavyweights are still slow. I can do my thing against them.’ I think he sees that there are better matchups for him at heavyweight than there are at light heavyweight.”

What do you think of these comments from Dominick Reyes?