Though the UFC had already been the first significant sports entity to return with recurring shows at its Apex facility in Las Vegas and "Fight Island" in the United Arab Emirates, something was clearly missing.
That's not the case anymore.
The octagonal mixed martial arts conglomerate welcomed about 15,000 ready-to-burst fans into Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, on Saturday night, confirming the "WE ARE BACK!" claim that czar Dana White had tweeted upon announcing the show in early March.
Indeed, UFC 261 went off as a 13-bout show featuring three title fights atop a crowded bill, including a welterweight championship rematch between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal that was a runback of a match on Fight Island last summer that Masvidal famously took on less than a week's notice.