Jon "Bones" Jones Dominates In UFC Return, Flips Off Daniel Cormier At UFC 197

The two year-long rivalry between all-time great fighter Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier was supposed to have it's latest chapter written on Saturday night at UFC 197, on yet another stacked UFC card. Due to an injury to Cormier, #6-ranked Ovince St. Preux stepped in, and nobody gave him much of a chance.

The interim light-heavyweight title was put on the line, but in this rare instance, the interim title is probably worth more than Cormier's actual light heavyweight belt. Jones was stripped of his championship without losing it last year after a hit-and-run incident, and was still considered the 'real champion' to many.

See Also: Jon Jones Talks Changing His Mind On When He Might Retire, Why He Wants To Fight Longer

This wasn't Jones' best performance, and looked like he badly needed a fight before competing for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Even though he dominated the fight from bell-to-bell, he looked flat-footed and started slow in the bout. Jones' physical transformation was also evident, as he looked huge inside the cage.

OSP found success here and there with big punches, but rarely threw any. It was still impressive for any fighter to go the distance with Jones. Jones took Saint Preux down several times and looked close to finishing the fight, but couldn't get the job done. Afer the fight, Jones said that he didn't put on his best performance.

Jones rejected the Interim UFC Championship Belt after the fight, saying that he wanted his title back. UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier was on commentary for the fight (doing a critically acclaimed job), and Jones stared him down, before flipping the champion off on his way back to the dressing room.