Bye Bye, Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson 2

Before UFC 165, Jon Jones had only ever looked like he was in serious trouble on one occasion when he was hit by the leaping left hand belonging of Lyoto 'The Dragon' Machida in their UFC 140 clash. In September 2013, Alexander Gustafsson pushed 'Bones' further than anyone had before.

There were many who felt the Swede deserved to win the five round contest, and those who didn't at least knew how competitive the bout had been. Before Daniel Cormier's hand was raised at UFC 192, it felt like we were very close to finally seeing the most anticipated rematch in the 205 lbs division come to fruition. Alas, in the wake of the event, it looks like it is further away than ever before.

After one round, 'The Mauler' proved that he was worthy of the Jones matchup, something that was debated right up until the first bell sounded. At the end of the opening five minutes, Jones wore a cut over his right eye from a rasping straight hand of Gusty and he had also conceded the first takedown of his UFC career.

The exchanges ebbed and flowed over the five rounds with the champion having a lot of success with his dynamic kicking game. Gustafsson's footwork and range proved a very tricky puzzle for Jones to solve, and the European charge's right hand connected consistently throughout their battle. The championship duo stood exhausted in the middle of the Octagon as the decision rang out around the Air Canada Centre. Jones got the nod on the night, but with his performance Gustafsson made sure he would always remain in the conversation whenever potential opponents for 'Bones' would be discussed.

Despite coming off a first-round KO loss to Anthony Johnson in front of stadium full of his most devoted fans in Sweden, when Jones's suspension on the back of his now infamous car crash removed the title from his clutches, Gustafsson was given the task of being Cormier's first challenge as champion after winning the belt at UFC 187. The fact that Ryan Bader's four-fight win streak was overlooked to put 'The Mauler' into the title fight only supports the fact that 2013's 'Fight of the Year' played a big part in him getting the shot.

Again, the European performed admirably throughout his five round epic with Cormier on Saturday night. However, ending up on the wrong end of decision to the current champion does not provide Gustafsson with grounds to claim a shot at Jones whose return to UFC ranks could happen quite soon given the fact that he avoided jail time last week.

From a fan's point of view, there is no doubt that the rematch between Jones and Gustafsson would have been an ideal outcome after UFC 192. While 'DC' met Jones in the controversial former champion's last outing, he didn't match the performance of the Swedish light-heavyweight, who remains the only man to make 'Bones' look beatable. While it remains to be seen if Cormier's next task will be the returning star, their rematch is certainly less interesting given that Jones had a much more concise decision win over the former Olympian.

Although Jones remains in limbo after last week's plea, he did react to Saturday's light heavyweight tussle with a post on Instagram. After the event Jones posted a brief video on the site where he said, "I think I miss it, I dunno," sending social media threads into a convulsion. When asked about Jones at the UFC 192 post-fight media press conference, UFC Vice President of Press Relations Dave Sholler claimed that the promotion "anticipate having more new this week" on the dethroned champion.

Sholler said: "We're in the process with our law firm of reviewing that plea agreement. We anticipate having more news this week, I saw Jon Jones was active on Instagram after the fight, so it seems like he's interested. But tonight is about Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson."

Jones initially did not warm to the idea of facing Gustafsson for a second time. In mid-2014 Dana White claimed that Jones was the only thing standing in the way of the rematch and that instead of Gustafsson, 'Bones' wanted to face Daniel Cormier. Having done that, and having nearly cleared out his division, the notion of another date with Gustafsson could potentially appeal to Jones in the future.

There were a lot of rumours doing the rounds after UFC 165 that suggested that Jones did the bare minimum to prepare for his Swedish opponent, and the reason that he looked so beatable on the night was a lot to with Jones not seeing Gustafsson as a serious threat.

If Jones is in any way as competitive as we believe him to be, he will want to dispel the common belief that Gustafsson can push him further than anyone else. 'Bones' should want to unequivocally prove that he has the number of the European 205er, and the only way to make that happen is to face off with him for a second time.

Be that as it may, Gustafsson is further away from the return date with the former divisional king than ever before since their initial bout. Whether he can put a string of wins together to get him back in contention for a shot at Jones remains to be seen, but there is no doubt that the MMA world will be ready to see it should the rematch ever materialize.