"I respected him a lot more before we fought. I'll tell you what, he has so much arrogance for someone who didn’t win.... I find it funny, because Gustafsson lost the fight fair and square. I will admit he won round one and round three, but that's it. I won the fight. I've never heard someone chirp so much who lost. I could see if I poked him in the eye and the fight had to be stopped or I caught him with a big punch while he was winning and it was a fluke or something. But, it was nothing like that.... We fought our hearts out. I proved that I have three times the heart that he did.... He needs to close his mouth and go back to the drawing board ... and humbly come back for a second chance."
-- Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has heard enough from Alexander Gustafsson (via FOXSports.com), who has been chipping away at "Bones" ever since the dust settled on their fantastic five-round battle at UFC 165 in Sept. 2013. Jones was supposed to handle the Swede, but "The Mauler" turned in the fight of his life to force a razor thin decision that favored the champion. It's all old news at this point for most mixed martial arts (MMA) fans, as well as the strange "bad ass" twists that include opting to fight Glover Teixeira rather than roll it back immediately, as well as a 205-pound No. 1 contender eliminator match suggestion against Daniel Cormier. It makes "perfect sense," remember? Gustafsson -- who is impatiently waiting in the wings after a tune up fight against Jimi Manuwa -- is confident that Jones is "avoiding" the rematch at all costs. After all, Jones was so messed up after tangling with Gustafsson that White compared it to surviving a car accident. Nonetheless, Jones appears to be agitated with all the talk, which will either expedite or delay the rematch if he can get passed Teixeira at UFC 172 later this month. Emotional leverage can be a powerful, and expensive, thing.