UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Dana Black
- May 16
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 14
Introduction
UFC 247: Jones vs. Reyes took place on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The card drew 17,401 fans and produced around 750,000 pay-per-view buys. It was one of the most controversial light-heavyweight title fights of the modern era.
The headline was a champion's eighth title defense against an unbeaten contender most pundits had under-rated. Jon Jones entered 26-1 (1 NC) and on a streak that included title-defense wins over Gustafsson, Smith, and Santos. His challenger, Dominick Reyes, arrived 12-0 with one of the most explosive rise-to-contention runs the division had ever produced. What followed was a five-round contest many viewed and most media members scored for Reyes. The judges returned a unanimous decision for Jones. The co-main featured Valentina Shevchenko defending her women's flyweight title via third-round TKO over Katlyn Chookagian.
Contents
• FAQ
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, February 8, 2020
📍 Venue: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, USA
👥 Attendance: 17,401
💰 Gate: $3,549,418
📡 Broadcast: Pay-per-view (ESPN+ in USA)
🏆 Main Event: Jon Jones (c) vs. Dominick Reyes — UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (205 lbs)
✅ Result: Jones def. Reyes via Unanimous Decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46)
🥇 Co-Main: Valentina Shevchenko (c) def. Katlyn Chookagian via TKO — R3, 1:03 — UFC Women's Flyweight Championship
The Build-Up
Jones entered the cage on a streak the light-heavyweight division had not produced in two decades. The Santos fight in 2019 had quietly raised the first serious questions about whether Jones was still the untouchable champion of 2011–2015. Reyes, a 30-year-old from Hesperia, California, was undefeated in 12 professional fights with finishes of Volkan Oezdemir, Jared Cannonier, and Chris Weidman. His credentials were the most legitimate of any unbeaten challenger Jones had faced since Daniel Cormier.
Main Event: Jones vs. Reyes
The first three rounds were Reyes's. The southpaw challenger used his reach, footwork, and an active left straight to outlanding Jones in the standup. By the end of round three, most scoring outlets had him up 3–0. Round four flipped — Jones found his timing and landed three takedowns. Round five was more of the same. When the scorecards were read — 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones — the arena erupted in boos. MMA Decisions media-scoring tally had Reyes winning 18–9.
Co-Main Event: Shevchenko vs. Chookagian
In round three, Shevchenko landed a head kick that rocked Chookagian, a straight knee in the clinch that dropped her, and a sequence of ground strikes from the back position forced referee Mark Smith to wave it off at 1:03 of round three. It was Shevchenko's second consecutive defense of the flyweight title.
Full Results
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Jon Jones (c) def. Dominick Reyes — Unanimous Decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) — Light Heavyweight Title
Valentina Shevchenko (c) def. Katlyn Chookagian — TKO (elbows and punches) — R3, 1:03 — Women's Flyweight Title
Justin Tafa def. Juan Adams — TKO (punches) — R1, 1:59 — Heavyweight
Dan Ige def. Mirsad Bektic — Split Decision — Featherweight
Derrick Lewis def. Ilir Latifi — Unanimous Decision (29-28 ×3) — Heavyweight
Preliminary Card (ESPN/ESPN+)
Trevin Giles def. James Krause — Split Decision — Middleweight (FOTN)
Lauren Murphy def. Andrea Lee — Split Decision — Women's Flyweight
Khaos Williams def. Alex Morono — KO (punches) — R1, 0:27 — Welterweight (POTN)
Mario Bautista def. Miles Johns — TKO (flying knee) — R2, 1:41 — Bantamweight (POTN)
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night ($50,000 each): Trevin Giles and James Krause, for their split decision middleweight prelim.
🥇 Performance of the Night ($50,000 each): Khaos Williams (27-second KO of Morono, UFC debut) and Mario Bautista (R2 TKO of Miles Johns with flying knee).
Records & Milestones
• Jones's 8th successful UFC Light Heavyweight Championship defense.
• Khaos Williams's 27-second KO of Alex Morono was one of the fastest KOs in UFC welterweight history at the time — his promotional debut.
• Shevchenko's second successful flyweight title defense at R3 1:03.
• Reyes's first career professional loss, ending a 12-0 unbeaten run.
• MMA Decisions media scoring: 18–9 in favour of Reyes — one of the largest discrepancies between media and judges in any modern UFC title fight.
Legacy & Impact
UFC 247 is remembered, above all, as the night the scorecard problem at 205 lbs became impossible to ignore. The result — not the fight itself — became the story, and the story became part of Jones's decision three months later to vacate the light heavyweight title and pursue heavyweight. He would not fight again until UFC 285 in March 2023.
FAQ
Did Jon Jones actually win UFC 247?
By the judges' decision, yes. Both unanimous scorecards — 48-47, 48-47, and 49-46 — went to Jones. However, MMA Decisions' media-scoring aggregator showed 18 of 27 outlets scoring the fight for Reyes. It remains one of the most disputed title-fight decisions of the modern era.
Why did Jon Jones move to heavyweight after UFC 247?
The Reyes fight showed he was no longer comfortably ahead of the field at 205 lbs. A protracted purse dispute with Dana White through 2020 also pushed him toward vacating. He officially relinquished the LHW belt in August 2020 and did not fight at heavyweight until UFC 285 against Ciryl Gane in March 2023.
Was Khaos Williams really making his UFC debut?
Yes. Khaos Williams's 27-second KO of Alex Morono on the preliminary card was his promotional debut. It earned a Performance of the Night bonus and was one of the fastest KOs in UFC welterweight history at the time.
How did Valentina Shevchenko win the co-main?
Round 3, 1:03. Shevchenko landed a head kick that rocked Chookagian, followed with a straight knee in the clinch that dropped her, and finished with ground-and-pound from back position. Referee Mark Smith waved it off at 1:03 of round three.
Did Dominick Reyes ever get a rematch with Jon Jones?
No, and he likely never will. Jones vacated the light heavyweight title three months after UFC 247 and moved to heavyweight. By the time Jones returned to active competition in 2023, Reyes was deep in a four-fight losing streak.
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