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It was billed as the fight card that could save what has been an underwhelming start to 2017 for the UFC. 

Stacked with a pair of title fights on the marquee and plenty of potential for action, UFC 211 on Saturday in Dallas lived up to its end of the bargain from an entertainment standpoint. 

That doesn't mean it left fans, and experts alike, without a handful of important questions to consider as we move forward. 

Is Stipe Miocic really that good or is the heavyweight division that bad? With his first-round TKO of Junior dos Santos in the main event, Miocic exacted sweet revenge from his last defeat in 2014 and further distanced himself from the pack within the division. But his success, which includes five straight knockout victories against the biggest names at heavyweight, seems to have more to do with the historic lack of depth to the division than his potential all-time great ability. 

That's not necessarily a knock on Miocic -- at least not yet. It's mostly just a reminder of the division's unpredictability and the fact that Miocic's title defense has already tied him for the heavyweight record of consecutive defenses at a measly two. 

Miocic has power in both hands, a strong wrestling base and the mentality of an exciting finisher. But outside of former champion Cain Velasquez, who underwent back surgery in January and continues to struggle with staying healthy, there simply isn't another fighter who makes sense for him to face. Both Derrick Lewis and Francis Ngannou may have fight-ending power and impressive win streaks, but they are equally raw and unproven at the highest level. 

Miocic looks like enough of a sure thing that setting a new watermark for title defenses appears very much in play. But he will need to defeat Velasquez, the best fighter the division has seen since Randy Couture, before we begin to allow a growing number of defenses to define him historically. 

Is there anyone at strawweight who can dethrone the great Joanna Jedrzejczyk? If five dominant title defenses against strong competition has told us anything, it's that the answer appears to be no. It has also taught us we may be watching the gathering of the greatest female resume in UFC history. 

Asked during the FS1 post fight show following her victory over Jessica Andrade about who's next, Jedrzejczyk stared intensely into the camera and returned fire. 

"It's my question to you: Who's next?" she said.

Common sense tells us it's Rose Namajunas, who was cageside on Saturday fresh off her impressive victory over Michelle Waterson in April. A victory for Jedrzejczyk would tie her with Ronda Rousey for the most title defenses by a female fighter in UFC history. 

But outside of Namajunas, the cupboard is bare with good reason. Jedrzejczyk has continued to prove she's not only unmatched in terms of her technical striking ability (her 225 significant strikes against Andrade were the second most in UFC history for a single fight), she's firmly alone when it comes to intangible categories like heart, chin, desire and gas tank. 

From her footwork to her preparation, Jedrzejczyk has evolved into the most well-rounded fighter among UFC females, with her inability to finish a recent four-pack of determined opponents the only drawback to nitpick. It will likely take an expected move to the UFC's newest division of flyweight (125 pounds) in 2018 to see if a true challenge can be found.

Is it time for instant replay in the UFC? After the lightweight bout between Eddie Alvarez and Dustin Poirier ended in a no contest on Saturday, that would seem to be true. Even UFC president Dana White talked about it at the post-fight news conference. But even though referee Herb Dean appeared wrong in ruling that Alvarez hit Poirier with a trio of illegal knees accidentally (despite the fact that Poirier's hands were clearly on the ground), the situation exposed an even bigger knee with the interpretation of the rule.

For many years, fighters have played "the game" of bending forward and reaching their hands to the ground in order to remain free from leg strikes while still standing on their feet. It's time for the UFC to redefine what a "downed fighter" is because of that and change it to mean a fighter on his knees or seated on the ground.

The company should also consider working out a better system with state athletic commissions where the rules of the Octagon don't vary as wildly from state to state. Fighters on Saturday were forced to remember slight variations within the rules that are different from the last card they fought on. All that does is create extra opportunities for confusion.

Endings like Alvarez-Poirier or Gegard Mousasi-Chris Weidman (at UFC 210) are unsatisfying enough due to the interpretation of rules that are already in stone. Let's not make it any harder.

Can Demian Maia finally ascend the top of the UFC mountain as he closes in on 40? Maia's reinvention at welterweight since 2012 has been nothing short of impressive. Now, the former title challenger at middleweight who is 10-2 at 170 pounds, has an opportunity to validate his entire career by securing a shot at Tyron Woodley's welterweight championship. 

By defeating Jorge Masvidal by split decision, Maia, 39, moved into a second-place tie with Donald Cerrone and Georges St-Pierre for most wins in UFC history with 19 (one behind Michael Bisping).

"I saw something in Tyron's game that I can capitalize on that I'm not going to say right now," Maia said during the post-fight news conference. "At that time, 'Wonderboy' [Stephen Thompson] showed it. I know the gaps that [Woodley] has, but he's pretty dangerous. He hits very heavy and he's short so he's hard to take down. But once we get there, it's 50/50. I know I can win against anyone in this division." 

While Maia relied on his legendary jiu-jitsu against Masvidal to secure his seventh straight victory, he failed to dominate or overly impress, remaining largely a one-dimensional fighter despite improvements to his striking as a welterweight. To remove himself from the short list of best UFC fighters to never win a title, he'll need to be better against the well-rounded Woodley, who wasn't concerned about the challenge. 

"As we say at Roufusport when we do our chant at the end of every practice, 'They think they want some but they don't really want some,'" Woodley said during the FS1 post-fight show. "You guys have to recognize I have the highest takedown defense in the entire welterweight division, second in the UFC, and I have fought the Andre Galvaos' of the world and the Jake Shields'. He will have to pack a lunch if he thinks he is going to jump on my back like that and take me down as he did to Jorge Masvidal and Carlos Condit." 

What happens to Frankie Edgar if featherweight champ Jose Aldo wins at UFC 212? Edgar, who destroyed red-hot featherweight prospect Yair Rodriguez on Saturday, would likely be out of luck if Aldo defends his 145-pound title against interim champ Max Holloway on June 3 in Brazil. The result would be disappointing because of how elite Edgar still looks at 35, fresh off a relentlessly aggressive performance. 

But the fact remains that Aldo already owns a pair of victories over Edgar in title fights, including an impressive one last July at UFC 200, which would make a third fight unlikely.

Edgar, a former UFC lightweight champion, is 7-2 since moving down in weight four years ago with his only defeats coming against Aldo. But all seven of his victories have come in convincing fashion against the division's best. In fact, the only top featherweight he didn't face was Conor McGregor, the current lightweight champion, despite being deserving at multiple times. 

"If a Conor McGregor fight is on the table, it would be dumb not to take that fight but I'm going to focus right now on 145," Edgar said.