It's hard to believe, but UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones says he's actually lost respect for Alexander Gustafsson since their five-round war at UFC 165. Speaking with FOX Sports, Jones believes the 'delusional' former No. 1 contender needs to reel in his comments.

"I respected him a lot more before we fought," says Jones. "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 1 and Round 3, 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."

The pair fought the consensus 'Fight of the Year' back in September and fans have clamored to see them do it again ever since. Gustafsson dragged the champ into deeper waters than any other opponent, leaving Jones with a lengthy recuperation. Jones' next title defense would even be pushed back several times. First moved from UFC 169 to UFC 170 later that month, the bout also jumped from UFC 171 in March before finally settling on Apr. 26 at UFC 172.

"We fought our hearts out," says Jones. "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."

Jones defends his light heavyweight title to Glover Teixeira at UFC 172: Jones vs. Teixeira from the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.

5 MUST-READ STORIES

Technique Talk. Luke Thomas and former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz talk footwork in MMA.

'My body told me to punch him.' Andre Dida says cheapshotting Chael Sonnen was just his way of looking out for Wanderlei Silva. "Many people called me a coward, but that's not true. I would be a coward if I did nothing."

'Impossible task.' Dana White comments on Will Chope's UFC release and how the company is doing its best to better screen athletes.

Not so random. Old and strong? Jon Jones has some questions. "I just thought I would have Glover tested because he's not the youngest fighter and everyone raves about how strong he is."

'Fight our fight.' Greg Jackson doesn't sound incredibly worried about Travis Browne playing in Fabricio Werdum's guard.

MEDIA STEW

Highlights from Bellator 116.

A day with Fabricio Werdum.

Takedown breakdown.

(Part 2 here)

GLORY 15 recap.

I want to be careful about how I word this but it sounds like Michael Bisping is comparing being English to being black or hispanic.

Long watches.

Co-Main Event Podcast Episode 99 (4/14/14)

...

TWEETS

Get well soon.

Tyrone had a successful surgery and is on the road to recovery. Thanks for the positive support and... http://t.co/jIaFpJZYLB — Rashad Evans (@SugaRashadEvans) April 14, 2014

Sounds good.

Big and shiny.

Scurred?

My fire is burning and their fear is evident. 14 weeks the takeover resumes. — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) April 15, 2014

Cool.

Work?

@FrontRowBrian it's a work!!! Tito has ties To Schlemenko. Taking the L for a good cause. — Ben Askren (@Benaskren) April 12, 2014

The winning edge.

Pro tip: eating under prepared meat really helps you get that lean slender look. Food poisoning is the poor mans cleanse! — Forrest Griffin (@ForrestGriffin) April 14, 2014

Ah.

So @TimKennedyMMA talks all this shit on the internet but doesn't have the balls to say a single word to my face.#keyboardwarrior — michael (@bisping) April 14, 2014

FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announced yesterday (Apr. 14 2014)

NA

FANPOST OF THE DAY

Today's Fanpost of the Day comes via cyborg73.

RICH FRANKLIN BELONGS IN THE UFC HALL OF FAME

In light of Rich Franklin's name making the rounds in MMA news lately with his desire to fight Anderson Silva one more time, as well as Chael Sonnen's recent challenge of him, I decided to re-post this article that I wrote and posted about a year and a half ago. I'd like to know what your thoughts are. Many debatable questions in the world of sports, unfortunately, are asked by opposing parties for years without ever truly reaching a resolving answer, due to lack of facts or evidence to support such an opinion. As a fan of Rich Franklin, I shall do my best to lay it all out on the table, and provide as such in order to answer the above question. Any follower of the UFC's history will have their personal picks as to who should be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. But what, exactly, is the criteria necessary for such an induction? Bear with me as I break it down in the case of Ace. ...

Check out the rest of the post here.

Found something you'd like to see in the Morning Report? Just hit me up on Twitter @SaintMMA and we'll include it in tomorrow's column.