Thiago Santos demands interim-title fight against Dominick Reyes as Jon Jones prepares for lengthy lay-off

One man's loss is another man's gain and that's how it works in life, as well as in the UFC.

Reigning UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones recently pleaded guilty to charges of driving under the influence and negligent use of firearms, meaning he won't be fighting anytime soon and Thiago Santos wants the UFC to book him against Dominick Reyes for an interim title fight in the near future.

Santos had earlier called for the possible fight against Reyes on social media, hours after Jon's arrest and in a recent interview with MMA Fighting, he explained why he feels the fight should be for an interim title. Santos said that both himself and Reyes are exciting fighters and people have wanted to see that fight go down for quite some time now.

"I suggested this fight with Reyes in case (Jones) steps away to get treatment, like he said. I don’t think the division needs to wait. The division can go on, even if it’s for an interim belt between Reyes and I, since we both are next in line. Fans were already talking about this fight even before this Jones situation happened, and I said I was willing to fight Reyes, and then Jones fights the winner when he returns.”

Santos' last fight inside the Octagon was a barn-burner against Jones in the main event of UFC 239 where the reigning champ escaped with a narrow margin to claim the victory via split decision.

The Brazilian's probable upcoming opponent Reyes too, put up a great show during his title fight against Jones at UFC 247, and ended up sharing the same fate as Santos, losing out narrowly via unanimous decision.