If there was any doubt that Jon Jones is Pound-For-Pound the best Material Artist that ever lived, then Saturday night’s destruction of Daniel Cormier should erase it. Now he is BIG game hunting...

King of the Hill

UFC 214 went down on Saturday and the debate about how rules the roost at 205 pounds has been well and truly settled. Jon 'Bones' Jones returned from his hiatus in devastating fashion. Scoring a Third Round TKO over Champion Daniel Cormier.

Cormier must be ruing the day he called out Jon Jones after UFC 187,

Jon Jones, get your shit together I’m waiting for you!

Well Mr Jones had definitively got his shit together and then some on Saturday night.

The 'near perfect' Cormier record

For me, Cormier and Jones are the two best mma fighters in the planet right now. I agree with Ariel Helwani when he says the UFC missed a trick in not promoting it as such.

Cormier joined the UFC as the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion. He remains undefeated at Heavyweight having beat the likes of Frank Mir and Roy Nelson in the UFC. He moved down Light Heavyweight to avoid a potential clash with his team-mate Cain Velasquez. He has beat top contenders, Alexander Gustafsson and Anthony Rumble Johnson at 205.

The one man he has lost to is Jon Jones.

The 'near perfect' Jones record

The record will state that Jon Jones has one defeat to his name. A disqualification against Matt Hamill. I’m not sure Hamill would thank you for reminding him of his ‘win’ against Jones though. Jones had mounted Hamill and was administrating some brutal ground and pound. As tough as Hamill was he was taking his punishment. Jones was ripping Hamill’s face with hard elbows. So much so that Jones looked to the ref as if to say, ‘Do I have to kill this guy for you to stop it?’ Having exhausted the many ways to elbow a downed opponent. Jones struck Hamill with two brutal “12-to-6 ” (i.e. straight up and down). The blows busted open Hamill’s face and ended the fight. The blows were deemed illegal by the referee and Jones was disqualified.

The disqualification did not derail Jones ascendency through the division. He went on to become the youngest UFC champion in March 2011, aged just 23, dismantling the then Champ Maurico ‘Shogun’ Rua. This ‘kid’ then went on to walk through some of the most legendary names in the Light Heavyweight division. He submitted Quinton ‘Ramage’ Jackson, virtually choked the life out of Loyota Machida, picked Rashad Evans apart, submitted Vitor Belfort who was allegedly on TRT when they fought, with the UFC’s knowledge. He then beat an over-matched Chael Sonnen before ripping through the current crop of Light Heavyweight contenders, Alexander Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira and cumulating in defeating Daniel Cormier in January 2015.

The self destructive streak

His opponents did not stand a hope in derailing. Jones destroyed everything in his path. Unfortunately he also almost destroyed himself.

After the Cormier win, he checked himself into rehab, having tested positive for cocaine. Less than 5 months later, he was suspended after being involved in a hit and run. A year later he was suspended again after failing a drug test, apparently due to taking a tainted Cialis pill ahead of UFC200.

After only having one fight (a routine win Ovince Saint Preux) in two and a half years, there were question-marks over whether we’d ever see the Jon Jones who thrilled so many again. Cormier had been dominating all-comers in Jones absence. The scene was set for the return of Jon Jones.

And boy did he return.

The prodigal son

Some will argue that Cormier was doing well in the fight. Some would even go as far as to say Cormier was winning all three rounds until the Jones head-kick. Do not let them fool you.

Watch the fight, with the sound off, no distraction and you'll see Jones won the first round convincingly. He worked Cormier's legs, his head and most importantly his body. Cormier was swinging bombs hoping to land a home run. However even when he connected clean, his strikes had little impact on Jones. The one time they clinched Jones throw Cormier off like a ragdoll.

And that's the key. For all Cormier's pressure, his hand speed, strikes and movement are primarily used as a means of getting inside and imposing his wrestling. However Jones is the one man that Cormier cannot out-wrestle. And in a game of striking, Jones has few, if any peers.

Cormier put all he could into winning the second round. For me he just edged it. But again at no point did he hurt or rock Jones. He was again putting money-in-the-bank, working Cormier's legs, head and most importantly his body.

Jones dropped the pace in the third round. Cormier pressed and just when he had Jones scurrying away from him a la Alexander Gustafsson Jones struck.

Poetry in motion

It was a thing of beauty. Not just the execution of the left head-kick, but the set up. For this head-kick was three years in the making. Before their first fight, in a pre-fight Press Conference. Jones and Cormier went back-and-forth about a flaw in Cormier's game that left him susceptible to left high kick. Jones hinted at it but it was Cormier that brought it up explicitly,

Do not think you're going kick me in the head with your left leg

I'm sure Cormier wishes he could grab those words and put them back in his own mouth!

During the course of this second fight, Jones sucked Cormier into falling in love with his hands and defending his body from kicks. Then as Jones set himself to kick, Cormier fell into his bad habit highlighted 3 years early. He lent to his right, with his arm down defending his body from 'yet another' body kick. However Jones switched it up and landed the sweetest left high kick imaginable on the side of Cormier's jaw. Wham! It was the beginning of the end.

Jones was merciless in hunting Cormier down and finishing him with vicious ground-and-pound.

The 'What Ifs'...

Don't let anyone play the What If game with you... and suggest that if the head-kick hadn't landed Cormier could have won. The fact is Jones had many routes to victory. Taking Cormier down. Out-striking him. Out-grappling him. Catching him with a crazy elbow. All Cormier could do is pressure and hope to hustle his way to a 5 round decision. However we've already seen Jones out-hustle Cormier in their first fight!

What next for Cormier?

In any other era Cormier would be lauded as one of the greatest of all time. Unfortunately this is the Jon Jones. If Cormier were a few years younger I'd suggest him making a run at heavyweight, gaining the belt then and then inviting Jones up for a trilogy.

However at 38, I'd like to see Cormier retire. He has a great gig on Fox. As heartbreaking as the post-fight interviews was, it was the kind of scene that will endear him in the eyes of meaning. Also with the touching words sent his way by Jon Jones, it seems a fitting end to the feud.

But we'll see. If Cormier does come back. I still cannot see any other Light Heavyweight beating him. I can also see him making a good title run at Heavyweight also. So he has options.

What next for Jones?

Jon Jones made it clear who he wants next,

Brock Lesnar if you want to know what it feels like to get your ass kicked by a guy who weighs 40 pounds less than you... meet me in the Octagon.

A Jones- Lesnar match-up would a superfight with enough to intrigue and split the hardcore and the casual fan alike. Jones 2.0 is taking a leaf out of Conor McGregor's playbook and aiming for the biggest money fights out there. And I don't blame him.

As good a fighter Conor is. Jones is the real deal when it comes to the pound-for-pound best fighter in the planet. If the UFC can match him right and market him right, they could have the genuine biggest draw in combat sport the planet has ever seen.