Jon Jones Discusses Heavyweight Move, Potential Superfight vs. Chris Weidman

From the moment he capped his meteoric rise to the UFC light heavyweight championship, Jon Jones has constantly been asked one important question: When are you going to move to heavyweight?

It's a question with merit. Both of his brothers are large men, and both hold roster spots in the National Football League. It is safe to assume Jones, with his massive wingspan and height, will someday easily fit the profile of a successful UFC heavyweight.

But that is still a question for the future. According to Jones, who hosted a fan Q&A session in Newark, N.J., prior to Friday's UFC 169 weigh-in, he still has work to do in the weight class he has lorded over since dethroning Mauricio Rua, a fight that also took place in Newark.

A fan asked Jones if he wanted to fight heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez.

"Yeah for sure, but right now I’m preparing to go into probably the toughest schedule I’ve had," he told the audience in attendance and watching around the world via web stream. "Any of the next three guys, they’re monsters. That’s what I’m preparing for: getting through Glover, Gus again. And I know a lot people wouldn’t agree that I got through him the first time. And DC. So that’s my schedule for now."

Jones is referring, of course, to Glover Teixeira (his opponent at April's UFC 172 event in Baltimore), Alexander Gustafsson (whom Jones bested in the fall and will face again provided the Swede gets past Jimi Manuwa on March 8) and Daniel Cormier, who must first beat Rashad Evans in his light heavyweight debut.

Fans also asked Jones about the possibility of an eventual fight with Chris Weidman, the middleweight champion with two consecutive victories over Anderson Silva. Jones and Silva were once considered members of a hypothetical superfight pairing, but there is now a growing din surrounding the idea of Weidman moving up to face Jones.

For his part, Jones is not against the idea. At all.

"Dude, I think it would be phenomenal, I think it would be awesome," Jones said. "I’ve got no reason to make comments about Weidman. I don’t want to offend him. I think he’s a great guy. But I’m very confident. I’m a very confident young man. I’ll just leave it at that."