UFC 145 Results: 5 Fights Besides Dan Henderson That Would Be Good for Jon Jones

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva once said the perfect opponent for him would be a carbon copy of himself. It would be nice, as well as absolutely terrifying, if we possessed the technology to accommodate that request.

UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones is fast becoming a fighter with no equals as well, and since we cannot create a mirror image for him to fight, we must analyze the available challengers to see who would make for good fights.

Here are the top five.

Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva and Jones have become good friends and have vowed to never fight one another. And seeing as they're in different weight categories, this is one pact that may very well be kept.

But they're two of the best fighters in the history of the sport, so we can dream, can't we?

Silva has ventured into the 205-pound division on two separate occasions: Once in 2008 when he decimated James Irvin, and once in 2009 when he basically stole Forrest Griffin's will to fight. Griffin has not been the same since.

So, it's not like he can't compete at 205.

Still though, it's a dream matchup. And you never know—anything can happen. If a couple of years ago you told Jones and Rashad Evans they were going to fight each other, they'd have laughed at you.

Silva is the only striker skilled enough to overcome the reach of Jones. His head movement is unreal, and his power and accuracy would present problems for the still technically raw Jones.

The chance of this dream fight ever coming to fruition is slim, but that doesn't mean we cannot Twitter bomb Dana White about it.

Junior dos Santos

Jones' biggest advantage is his size. His 6'4" height, his 84.5" reach and his weight of 230 pounds make him one of the largest light-heavyweights in the division. Take away that advantage and he would still be a very good fighter, but he'd be mortal.

Jones' title run is still in its infancy, and he's almost cleaned out the division. Sure, new challengers always emerge, but at 24 years old, if he keeps on winning and growing, he may need a new home not only for his size but for new opponents.

It's quite possible that Jones may be heavyweight-bound someday. Indeed, he's already expressed interest in it.

Junior dos Santos is the same height as Jones and outweighs him by about 15 pounds, but dos Santos has a reach disadvantage of 7.5". However, his crisp boxing skills would nullify that burden and make for a very explosive stand up war.

Dos Santos would likely defeat Jones, but if Jones packed the necessary bulk onto his frame in the proper manner, he could be a very effective heavyweight.

Alexander Gustafsson

Fighters hit their peaks at different times in their respective careers. It's something that varies greatly depending on the athlete.

Randy Couture hit his in his late-30s or early-40s. Jon Jones is in his at 24.

Twenty-five-year-old Alexander Gustafsson may very well be hitting his in a couple of years.

By that time it's a possibility that Jones will have leveled off. It's not likely, but really, how great can Jones get?

Gustafsson is not ready for Jones right now, but If he continues to progress like he has and Jones levels off when they finally meet, we could be in for a very entertaining fight.

It's impossible to predict the future, so let us be eternal optimists and hope that Gustafsson gets a whole lot better while Jones kind of stays the where he is.

Rickson Gracie

It's obvious what you're thinking: "Rickson Gracie is 53 years old and hasn't fought in over a decade."

True, but being tasked with coming up with five opponents for a fighter quickly establishing himself as a brutal kingpin without peers must allow for a little latitude.

In this case the latitude is time travel.

Gracie in his heyday, circa 1999, versus Jones of today.

Jones is the far more well-rounded fighter. We've seen him demolish strikers and great wrestlers. We've never seen him fight a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu monster like Gracie, though.

Gracie claims a record of 400-0, which is almost certainly a cosmologically gross exaggeration. He's prone to ludicrous verbal attacks on today's top fighters, but there is no denying that Gracie was one of the best BJJ practitioners in the history of the sport.

He'd likely get destroyed in the striking by Jones, but if he could somehow figure a way to get the fight to the mat, there's a very good chance he'd tie Jones into a pretzel.

Jon Jones

No, this has nothing to do with a carbon copy of Jon Jones.

This is about Jon Jones being the only man at 205 who can defeat Jon Jones...in his mind.

Just ask Georges St-Pierre what can happen when a fighter lets his own hype get to his head. Jones, being just 24, is particularly susceptible.

He has to be very careful with this fame and fortune. He must stay grounded.

A couple of positive things are his coaching staff. Greg Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn care a lot for their fighters, and they won't hesitate to call Jones out if he starts to get too big for his britches.

Second, and most importantly, is his family. Jones is engaged to be married and has three children. If he was single, out there living the wild life with all that fame and money, he'd be at a much higher risk for failure.

As things stand now, Jones is a miraculously grounded young man, especially considering all the attention he has on him. As long as he stays on the right path he'll be just fine.