Thiago Santos suggests title fight with Dominick Reyes in wake of Jon Jones arrest

With Jon Jones once again in legal trouble, one of his rivals has an idea for how to make the best of a bad situation.

On Thursday, Jones was arrested for aggravated DWI and negligent use of a firearm, and while the UFC issued a statement on its reigning light heavyweight champion, it remains up in the air what they plan to do about the title around his waist, if anything. There is a precedent for this as Jones’s first championship reign ended in ignominy when he was stripped of his title following his involvement in an April 2015 hit-and-run case.

Those are two examples of the kind of behavior that prompted recent title challenger Thiago Santos to take to Twitter and offer a suggestion as to what should be done in the event that Jones is not able to compete in the near future.

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!

Santos’s tweet refers to Dominick Reyes, the most recent fighter to unsuccessfully challenge Jones. Both Santos and Reyes went the distance with Jones, with Santos becoming the first fighter ever to take Jones to a split decision at UFC 239. Similarly, Reyes put on a performance at UFC 247 that had many observers wondering if there should have been a new champ.

The possibility of a rematch has been brought up for both Reyes and Santos, though the rest of the light heavyweight division will now have to wait and see what happens to Jones. For now, it appears that Santos is perfectly fine with the possibility of becoming champion with Jones out of the equation.