After more than a year on the sideline, Jon Jones has confirmed that even at his worst, even at his rustiest, he is still insurmountably better than the sixth best fighter on the planet.
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Jones defeated Ovince Saint Preux in a five-round unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 197, however the best fighter on the planet admitted his performance in capturing the interim light-heavyweight belt was perhaps the worst of his career.
While Saint Preux must be commended for taking the fight on just three weeks' notice, he was not in the same stratosphere, perhaps not even the same solar system, as Jones, who improved his record to 22-1.
Jones fought cautiously, perhaps too cautiously, utilising kicks to the thigh, kicks to the knee, to keep Saint Preux at distance.
Saint Preux tried to close the distance, tried to land kicks, but Jones was simply too elusive, landing twice the amount of significant strikes throughout the fight.
In the final two rounds Jones took Saint Preux down repeatedly, lifting the 205-pound Saint Preux over his shoulder and dumping him with authority, breaking his arm in the fourth round.
All things considered Saint Preux did extraordinarily well to take the fight to a decision, and he said he was proud of his performance, as he should be.
Jones, however, gave a frank assessment of his own performance.
"I was just watching … I was knowing when techniques would have landed and then not throwing them.
"Physically I felt amazing … mentally, I felt like I was stuck."
He also refused to take the interim light-heavyweight belt.
"I don't think I want that belt, it's not the real belt, I want my actual belt back."
One question, however, has to be answered.
Is Jon Jones the number one pound-for-pound fighter in MMA?
Flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson put forward his claim to the throne by brutally dispatching challenger Henry Cejudo in just two minutes and 49 seconds.
Cejudo, the 2008 Olympic freestyle wrestling gold medallist, was seen as a legitimate contender against the only flyweight champion in the history of the UFC, with his Olympic pedigree and 10-0 record.
When Cejudo scored an early takedown against Johnson, it appeared he was, until Johnson pulled him into his clinch after escaping the ground.
From there, Johnson destroyed Cejudo with knees and elbows, sending the challenger flailing backwards, where a straight left and a final devastating knee to the liver forced referee Herb Dean to step in and end the fight.
Officially the most dominant active champion after Jon Jones was stripped of his title, what is unclear is just who Johnson may face next.
The only fighter in the top six of his division he hasn't fought, Brazilian Jussier Formiga, has been beated convincingly by Cejudo, Joseph Benavidez and John Dodson.
A superfight with bantamweight champion Dominic Cruz, the only man to beat him in the UFC, looms as the most likely candidate, however Johnson has stated his aim is to break Anderson Silva's record of 10 title defences.
At least for Jones, he has an amount of clarity in terms of his next step. The champion, Daniel Cormier, awaits in a title unification bout that has a slim chance of headlining UFC 200, depending on a doctor's assessment of Cormier's injured leg in the coming days.
In the remaining fights, former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis must question his next move after his third straight defeat, this time at the hands of Edson Barboza, who brutalised the former champion's legs with kicks.
Yair Rodriguez staked his claim for knockout of the year in an action-filled clash with Team Alpha Male product Andre Fili.
In an even bout Rodriguez, considered one of the UFC's brightest rising stars, hit Fili with a flying head kick in the third, knocking Fili out cold with a finish that will be replayed hundreds, if not thousands of times.
