Reyes BLASTS Cormier — Jones Says 'Close But No Cigar'

Reyes unloaded on Cormier's UFC 333 commentary after his head-kick win, Cormier told him to chill, and Jones stepped in with a jab.

"Real talk, who actually likes hearing low IQ hater ass DC?"

That was Dominick Reyes, back on a plane home from Abu Dhabi, after rewatching his own UFC 333 win and the commentary that came with it. What started as one fighter venting about a broadcast became a three-way feud before the weekend was out.

Reyes had just stopped Azamat Murzakanov by head kick and follow-up punches at 2:40 of round 1 on Saturday, October 24, at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The win was emphatic. The flight home, by his own account, was when the frustration poured out.

Reyes Opens Fire

Reyes did not ease into it. He went straight at Daniel Cormier, the former two-weight champion turned commentator, and at the whole expert class around him.

"Sick of being the nice guy while these clowns flat out disrespect and marginalize what I've done in this sport," Reyes wrote. "These so called 'experts'."

Then he turned personal, and he turned to history. "And no, Jon Jones didn't whoop all of us, he whooped you! Bad! Multiple times. Kid," Reyes wrote. "Calling me kid, MF I'm a grown ass man!"

The 'Kid' Line

That "kid" line was the spark. Reyes said Cormier's commentary had been building for a while, and he was done swallowing it. "My name is Dominick, not 'kid,'" he wrote later. "Yeah, I heard your commentary tonight on my fight."

He framed it as bigger than one night. "I'm bothered by your lack of research and knowledge while commentating," Reyes wrote. "Your 'expert' commentary sways the opinions of average fans, and that has a profound effect on our lives."

Cormier Answers

Cormier did not sit on it. He answered Reyes directly, and he tried to cool the whole thing down without backing off his commentary.

"Yo Dom chill. I don't call you kid negatively. I've only spoke truth to you," Cormier wrote. "When you do some amazing s— like you did today I praise you. If you do something like the last fight with Johnny, I speak the truth about that too."

That last line was a reference to Reyes's previous fight, a split decision win over Johnny Walker at UFC 327 in April. Cormier's point was simple: praise when it is earned, criticism when it is earned, same standard either way.

He also left the door open. "But these comments seem like you've been carrying something with you for a while. You can always talk to me. I'm not very hard to find."

No Peace Offer

Reyes was not buying the peace offer. Cormier tried once more, saying he would find Reyes for a conversation, that he had told Reyes's team how amazing he looked, and that this may have been his best performance. Reyes's answer was blunt: "I'm not your buddy, guy."

He did add a condition for stopping. "I only care that you have unbiased, well-informed color commentary," Reyes wrote. "I will stop now, but not because you asked me to."

Jones Piles On

Then the third voice arrived, and it was the one Reyes had dragged into the argument himself. A fan relayed Reyes's comments to Jon Jones, and Jones answered on X on October 25.

"Send this to him, I'm giving you a virtual hug," Jones wrote. "I hope one day you heal from such a defeat. Close but no cigar. Sweat more, pass that on to the next generation."

It was a jab at the old wound between them. Jones beat Reyes by unanimous decision in his final light heavyweight title defense in 2020, a result that remains disputed, with many observers believing Reyes deserved the victory. Jones was not about to let Reyes rewrite that night as a near-miss without a word.

The Record, Kept Straight

And on the Cormier part, the record needs to stay straight. Reyes's "whooped you multiple times" is his rhetoric. As fact, Jones officially holds one victory over Cormier. His knockout win in their rematch was overturned to a no contest following a failed drug test.

The Win Behind the Words

None of this happens without the win itself. Reyes's head kick ended Murzakanov in the first round on the featured prelim, and it kept a run going that has quietly rebuilt his standing.

Reyes has now won five of his last six fights, with his sole loss in that stretch coming against Carlos Ulberg. He is on a two-fight winning streak, and the Murzakanov finish was the most emphatic of the run.

The Irony

There is a small irony tucked inside the feud, too. Cormier was on the desk for the fight and interviewed Reyes afterwards in what seemed like a friendly exchange. It was only when Reyes rewatched the broadcast that the friendly exchange turned into a public row.

So now the question is not whether Reyes was angry. He was, and he said why. The question is whether Cormier hears a fighter with a real complaint about commentary, or a man who has been carrying something for a while, as Cormier put it. Either way, Jones has already given his answer, and it was not a hug.