Thiago Silva Wants to Fight Dominick Reyes if Jon Jones Gets Stripped of His Title

Thiago Santos believes he and Dominick Reyes should decide the new UFC light heavyweight champion. The Brazilian fighter expressed his opinion on social media networks, adding that he and Reyes should fight for the belt.

After the recent arrest of Jon Jones due to aggravated DUI and negligent use of a firearm, various speculation appeared about his future and the future of the UFC lightweight division. According to some, the organization could strip him of the belt, and decide to find a new champion. For Thiago Santos, that is a perfect chance for UFC to organize a match for the vacant title, and in his opinion, two guys who should be fighting are he and Reyes.

“I think UFCs 205 div needs a new champ! ( One that’s not forever in trouble!) I think me and Reyes deserve to fight for that belt!” Santos wrote on his Twitter account and marked Reyes, the UFC, ESPN, and Dana White.

I think UFCs 205 div needs a new champ! ( One thats not forever in trouble!)
I think me and Reyes deserve to fight for that belt! @danawhite @Mickmaynard2 @ufc @DomReyes @UFCBrasil @Alexdavismma @espnmma

— Thiago “Marreta” Santos (@TMarretaMMA) March 26, 2020

Right now, there wasn’t any response from the other side, but that is something which will, for sure, follow in the recent few days.

The UFC organization hasn’t indicated what might happen with Jones, and they just issue a short statement, saying that they are aware of the incident and that they gather more information about it.

“UFC is aware of the situation regarding Jon Jones in Albuquerque early this morning,” the statement read. “The organization has been in contact with Jones’ management team and is currently gathering additional information.”

One of the most dominant fighters of all time, and the absolute ruler of the lightweight division in the last decade, was already stripped of a title before. That happened in 2015, with Jones being involved in a hit and run case. He would need two years to regain the title after all the chaos.

The last time “Bones” fought was at the UFC 247 once he defeated Reyes via unanimous decision. However, back then, he had quite a challenge, and according to some analysts, his victory wasn’t that convincing. The fight before that was at the UFC 239, once he clashed with Santos, whom he beat via split decision. It was the first time in his career that he had a split win over some of his rivals. It was arguably one of the best contests in 2019, with both fighters giving their best, and performing above all the expectations.

In the meantime, the footage of Jones’ arrest appeared on the internet, showing him emotionally disrupted. Numerous reactions flooded social networks, with some supporting Jones and others, being negative and making fun of the champ. Valentina Shevchenko is in the first category.

So sad the modern world is all about hype!
Now many people starting to insult Jon Jones without knowing his real situation!
Fighting on the same card , I could see he is kind and noble man !
Him being in all that difficult times – he will be back Stronger ! 💪🏻

— Valentina Shevchenko (@BulletValentina) March 26, 2020

“So sad, the modern world is all about hype! Now many people starting to insult Jon Jones without knowing his real situation!” the “Bullet” wrote. “Fighting on the same card, I could see he is kind and noble man! Him being in all that difficult times – he will be back Stronger!”

On the other side was Israel Adesanya, who posted various memes of Jones on his social accounts. The Kiwi is calling out Jones for a long time, wanting a chance to fight him. Yet, the champion was refusing to even talk about that. Adesanya recently had a clash with Yoel Romero at the UFC 248, and although he won via unanimous decision, he didn’t meet the expectations. It appears that “The Last Stylebender” would need to wait a bit longer before receiving an opportunity to participate in a title fight.

About the fight between Reyes and Santos, nobody knows at the moment what will happen with it. But what we do know is that if Jones gets stripped of his title again, Dana White will have a lot of problems in determining who deserves to fight for the belt. Apart from Silva’s suggestion, there would be at least a dozen similar ones.