That happened quickly. In the sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, fans from all over the world eagerly awaited the grand return of perhaps the greatest MMA athlete of all time. The "perhaps" would lose meaning over the course of the evening, however, as Jon Jones solidified this status. He delivered nothing less than an absolute top-class performance. After just a few seconds, he successfully went for a takedown, skillfully leveraging his experience. With a sensational guillotine choke finish after just two minutes, Jones made Cyril Gane look like a complete amateur. This performance was too strong, too experienced, too intelligent, and simply too good, and thus rightfully crowned Jones the Heavyweight Champion. He is now officially the best fighter of all time.

Alexa Grasso pulled off the upset, defeating the heavy favorite Valentina Shevchenko, and is thus definitely one of the top contenders. Shavkat Rakhmonov dominated for long stretches, ultimately even getting the finish, thus underscoring his status as a dangerous opponent for the welterweight elite. It was a much closer affair for Mateusz Gamrot, who nevertheless remains one of the evening's winners thanks to a narrow split decision.

The main winners of the evening, however, were the die-hard UFC fans. Seeing Jon Jones back in the ring after a three-year absence, a victory by Cody Garbrandt, or even the appearance of Conor McGregor in the arena as a spectator likely made long-time followers of the sport nostalgic and reminded them of the old days.