Morning Report: Jon Jones says he’s been humbled by Alexander Gustafsson, respects Daniel Cormier but doesn’t like him

Visiting the Nation’s Capital alongside his UFC 172 opponent Glover Teixeira, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is still looking back to his September bout with Alexander Gustafsson. Speaking with Chad Dukes and Lavar Arringt…

Visiting the Nation’s Capital alongside his UFC 172 opponent Glover Teixeira, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is still looking back to his September bout with Alexander Gustafsson. Speaking with Chad Dukes and Lavar Arrington on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, Jones says his last outing with Gustafsson has given him new resolve as a champion.

“My last fight I had a really tough fight. I just won by decision. I just squeaked out a victory. I’ve been humbled. It’s an empowering thing. It’s a scary thing for [my opponents]. Now I’m taking my job more seriously than ever.”

With claims by some fans that he’s already looking down the road at future opponents, Jones says it’s all just part of the game.

“It’s kind of a no-brainer. Anybody who pays attention to the sport knows who’s coming, you know who’s deserving. You’ve got to give Alexander Gustafsson the No. 1 contender spot behind Glover Teixeira. Then with the way Daniel Cormier has been performing, he’s top three at the heavyweight division. Lets see how he competes at the light heavyweight division but with the tear he’s been on, if he can continue that, it’s unquestioned that he deserves a shot, as well.

“I really don’t like [Cormier] too much, but right now he’s coming across as being good for the sport. He’s a really articulate guy. He’s doing a lot of broadcasting and commentary. He’s a winner and an Olympian. So even though I don’t like him, I do respect what he’s doing for our sport.”

Back to the matter of Teixeira, Jones doesn’t look to be buying into the Brazilian’s knockout hype.

“I won’t have to gameplan for it. I’ll just have to be aware of it and respect it. In Glover’s last fight, you saw that. He was getting beat up. He had his back against the wall. He was covering up his face, kind of in the fetal or turtle position. He peeked up, saw that he had an opening, swung and got a knockout, which was extremely impressive. So yea, Glover is someone I’m going to have to respect tremendously. He has knockout power in both his right hand and left hand. It’s just going to be a really entertaining fight to watch.”

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5 MUST-READ STORIES

Rumble returns. After going 6-0 outside of the UFC, Anthony Johnson returns to face Phil Davis at UFC 172.

A rising Overeem lifts all ships. Chuck Mindenhall explains why a dominant Alistair Overeem means more eyeballs on the sport.

Signal to noise. Luke Thomas gives us his best and worst of UFC 169.

Brain study. Legislators and promoters have teamed up to study brain trauma in combat sports.

Fight pass. The UFC has started taking steps to improve security for the digital service.

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MEDIA STEW

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A look at Forrest Griffin’s time in TUF 1.

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Jose Aldo and Renan Barao hanging out a few hours before their fights at UFC 169.

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Cris Cyborg says she’s walking around at 165lbs.

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Jones runs into Georges St-Pierre.

Then a followup of Jones asking TMZ why they tried to create controversy over nothing.

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Teixeira talks Jones.

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Bless you, Korean UFC Fight Night 36 promo.

(via r/MMA)

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Long watches.

Daniel Cormier on Steve Austin’s podcast. (Skip ahead to 12:00 to get to DC)

Senators Reid and McCain Join Boxing, MMA Executives to Support Professional Fighters Study (Skip to about 1:00:00 to get to Lorenzo and the fighters)

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TWEETS

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Welcome back.

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This would have been a much better live season.

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Different.

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Still part of Team Nog?

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In D.C.

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Origami.

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How big was the fight bonus?

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Rate her form.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announced yesterday (Feb. 4 2014)

Phil Davis vs. Anthony Johnson at UFC 172

Tim Boetsch vs. Luke Rockhold at UFC 172

Diego Brandao vs. Will Chope booked for UFC Fight Night 38

cancelled Rafael dos Anjos vs. Rustam Khabilov at UFC 170

Rafael dos Anjos vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC on FOX 11

Pat Healy vs. Jorge Masvidal at UFC on FOX 11

Yoel Romero vs. Brad Tavares at UFC on FOX 11

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FANPOST OF THE DAY

Today’s Fanpost of the Day comes via forty two.

Guys fighting…or how fight teams might change the seemingly endless sea of UFC events.

Thirty something days into the year and with 4 events in the books the UFC are on track to reach the 50+ events they announced for 2014. After yet another night of ‘guys fighting’, it is clear that the UFC is not firing on all cylinders when it comes to marketing their fighters or their events. The fight promotion has effectively become a fight planning company. With at least a 1000 fighters entering the cage in 2014, even for hardcore fans it gets difficult to keep track of everything that is happening in and outside the cage.

One way to bring a more cohesive structure to the extensive roster of fighters and events is to introduce the idea of fight teams. This is by no means a new idea, but developing it further might help solve some of the more obvious problems that are present in the current MMA eco-system.

Check out the rest of the post here.

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