UFC 165: Jon Jones believes Phil Davis took Alexander Gustafsson’s heart and soul in Abu Dhabi

Alexander Gustafsson only has one defeat on his mixed martial arts (MMA) record, a first round submission loss to Phil Davis at UFC 112 back in 2010.

Not bad, considering the 26 year-old has faced pretty stiff competition in his career, which includes the likes of Mauricio Rua and Thiago Silva, among others.

That lone defeat on "The Mauler's" otherwise mint stat sheet, however, is all current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones needed to see in order to find out just what type of heart -- or lack thereof -- the towering Swede possesses.

According to "Bones," the fact that Gus tapped out with a few ticks left on the clock showed that he feels somewhat "inferior" in his heart and when the pressure is on, "The Mauler" just doesn't have what it takes to keep fighting to the end. Furthermore, along with escaping Abu Dhabi with a win, "Mr. Wonderful" also went home with Gustafsson's soul.

Jones said as much during a recent press tour (via Fighters Only):

"Phil Davis took his soul, took his heart, took his will to fight away in under five minutes. He tapped out with less than 10 seconds left. I think he was being choked for only 2 seconds, so that showed me that he got claustrophobic in there, he was uncomfortable, basically his will to fight was over. That tells me a lot about his character and what type of heart he has. He's mentioned that he needs to stick and move and I think it does show about his psychology. I think stick and move is a psychology of the insecure fighter. It shows me he may feel inferior somewhere in his heart and if that's in there, I will draw it out of him."

Despite the setback, "The Mauler" has gone on to rack up six consecutive victories inside the Octagon and managed to catapult himself to title contention following his loss to Davis.

Nevertheless, Jones believes he will be battling a soulless challenger this weekend (Sept. 21, 2013) in the main event of the UFC 165 pay-per-view (PPV) at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

But, if Gustafsson manages to show a little bit of fortitude come fight night, "Bones" is determined to take whatever fight he has left out of his six-foot, five-inch frame.