''UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

that took place on February 8, 2020, at the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once th ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, United States.

Background

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...

bout between the current two-time champion

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the ...

and Dominick Reyes served as the headliner. A

UFC Women's Flyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

bout between the current champion

Valentina Shevchenko Valentina Anatolyevna Shevchenko (born March 7, 1988) is a Kyrgyz professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, former Muay Thai fighter and Kickboxing, kickboxer. She currently competes in the women's Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight divisi ...

and

Katlyn Chookagian Katlyn Cerminara (; born December 28, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist. She formerly competed in the Bantamweight division and currently competes in the women's Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC ...

served as the co-headliner. While not officially announced by the organization, the promotion was initially targeting a light heavyweight bout between former interim title challenger Ovince Saint Preux and Ryan Spann to take place at the event. However, promotion matchmakers elected to go in another direction and the pairing was scrapped from the event. A bantamweight bout between Sean O'Malley and José Alberto Quiñónez was originally scheduled to take place at

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United Stat ...

. However, it was scrapped after O'Malley failed a

United States Anti-Doping Agency The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti-doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

(USADA) drug test. The bout was then expected to take place at this event but it was eventually moved to UFC 248 for unknown reasons.

Dhiego Lima Dhiego Lima (born January 31, 1989) is a Brazilian retired Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight (MMA), welterweight division of the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Lima was born and spent his early childhood ...

was scheduled to face Alex Morono at the event. However, Lima was forced off the card on January 22 with a neck injury. He was replaced by promotional newcomer Khaos Williams.

Jimmie Rivera Jimmie Rivera (born June 29, 1989) is an American professional mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer, currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). Prior to signing with BKFC, Rivera competed in the UFC's Bantamweight divis ...

was scheduled to face

Marlon Vera Marlon Andrés Vera Delgado (born December 2, 1992), also known as Chito Vera, is an Ecuadorian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of February 25, ...

at the event. However, Rivera pulled out of the fight on January 23 citing an injury. In turn, promotion officials elected to remove Vera from the card entirely. Antonio Arroyo was expected to face Trevin Giles in a middleweight bout at the event. However, Arroyo pulled out a day before the fight due to medical issues. He was replaced by James Krause, who was already in Houston to corner Youssef Zalal.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. *Fight of the Night: Trevin Giles vs. James Krause *Performance of the Night: Khaos Williams and Mario Bautista

Aftermath

On March 25, it was announced by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) that Journey Newson tested positive for

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

in in-competition drug tests. His victory was also overturned to a no contest and he could face a fine and suspension, likely no longer than 90 days, per Texas regulations.

Controversy

Jon Jones' victory over Dominick Reyes in the main event is highly disputed among the UFC and Mixed Martial Arts community. The judges scored the contest 48-47 (Jones), 48-47 (Jones), and 49-46 (Jones). Despite this, 14 of 21 media outlets present scored the fight in favor of Reyes, with 7 scoring for Jones.

References