Jon Jones' Next Fight: What Opponent Makes the Most Sense

Jon Jones looks as close to unbeatable as a fighter has looked since Fedor Emelianenko made his run in PRIDE. Sure, there are some holes in his game, just like everyone else, but who is going to exploit them?

Vitor Belfort came close to exploiting the grappling holes in Jones' game, but ultimately felt the wrath of Jones' elbows. Rashad Evans was supposed to be the guy to take Jones out, given their past, but he could do nothing more than stand in awe of Jones' freakish reach. Lyoto Machida appeared to have the unsolvable riddle for Jones on the feet, but was still dropped like a bad habit (literally).

All of Jones' opponents have presented a unique challenge for the champion to overcome and to this point, Jones has passed with flying colors. With a few title challengers possibly in the works, the UFC has some options available to them when booking Jones' next fight.

Other than their fighting styles, each man also offers a unique selling point to build a pay-per-view around. But what one of his future opponents makes the most sense?

Lyoto Machida

Lyoto Machida and his karate striking style was supposed to give Jon Jones trouble at UFC 140. Machida's in-and-out style was supposed to negate the long reach of Jones. If none of that worked Machida's BJJ could at least threaten the champion on the mat.

None of those even came close to a reality as Jones stifled the offense of Machida in their contest. Outside of one punch, Machida offered virtually no offense and Jones controlled much of the action. Jones was able to secure a guillotine choke and dropped the unconscious Machida to the mat.

Jones has been adamant about not facing Machida again due to the low pay-per-view buys, and although it makes sense, Machida looked very impressive against Ryan Bader. If he can get past Dan Henderson then that will validate Machida's place as the top contender.

Although Jones vs. Machida II would be an interesting clash of styles in the Octagon, the rematch makes very little sense for the UFC as it will be a hard fight to sell, given how easily the champion dominated Machida in the first meeting.

Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen almost self-promoted himself into an UFC title shot following his loss to Anderson Silva in July. Of course Jon Jones refused the fight and now Sonnen will have to get past Forrest Griffin to be anywhere near facing the champion.

Sonnen represents a few interesting challenges to the champion has he possesses some of the best wrestling in MMA today. It will be interesting to see how strong his wrestling is at light heavyweight, a weight class where Sonnen has had modest success at best.

Beating Griffin shouldn't give anyone a title shot but Sonnen has a two aces up his sleeve.

The first is his ability to promote. Perhaps no other fighter in the history of the UFC can sell a fight like Chael P. Sonnen can. Even if most of his one liners are nonsense they still equate to pay-per-view buys; money the UFC would love to have right about now.

The other factor helping Sonnen launch himself into a title shot is UFC President Dana White. Sonnen's selling ability makes White a lot of money and White has even said if the fans want it, Sonnen vs Jones will happen.

We will have a barometer of how Sonnen fairs at 205 pounds following his fight with Griffin but at the very least Sonnen would make it one of the highest grossing events of recent memory.

Dan Henderson

Dan Henderson was supposed to face Jon Jones at UFC 151 but an injury forced him off the card. The two have engaged in a little verbal war with one another which has created a "mini-rivalry" of sorts.

Henderson will now have to get through Lyoto Machida to get his title shot. Fighting Machida will help Henderson's footwork get better, a feature he will need to be in top form if he faces Jones.

"Hendo" has a solid wrestling base but there's no secret as to what he's going to do in the Octagon. He's going to push forward and look to land his vaunted "H-Bomb" on Jones' face. Jones' style is the exact opposite of Henderson's in that the champion utilizes a wide array of kicks to keep his opponents at bay.

The build up for this potential fight would be big as I'm sure neither man has any reservations about talking down about the other. Henderson isn't a salesman when it comes to promoting fights but his laid back style is the perfect compliment to Jones.

Henderson makes the most sense to face Jones next, given the fact they were supposed to fight already and Henderson is also not someone Jones has already beaten soundly. A victory over Machida will be more than enough ammunition for Henderson to lay claim to an UFC title shot.