UFC: 10 Potential Dream Matchups at Heavyweight for Jon Jones

By this point, I'm sure you've heard that Jon Jones defeated Rampage Jackson and defended his light heavyweight title.

What you may not have heard could be some of the biggest news of the evening.

At the post-fight press conference, the question was posed about Anderson Silva moving to light heavyweight.

One thing led to another, and Dana White ended up mentioning that he and Jones had discussed a potential move to heavyweight if he cleans out light heavyweight.

This is some big news, as Jones may already be showing more interest than moving up a weight class than Silva ever did.

Here's 10 dream matchups for Jones at heavyweight.

Junior Dos Santos

The first six guys on this list are going to be no real surprise to anyone.

Right of the bat is the current No. 1 contender to the heavyweight belt, Junior dos Santos.

"Cigano" is a vicious striker, and is said to have great jiu jitsu and even better hips to get back to his feet when he gets taken down.

Santos has already taken out one "giant" in Stefan Struve, so would he be able to get inside on Jones and test his chin more than Rampage?

Cain Velasquez

Cain Velasquez is the current UFC heavyweight champion, and would make a nice champion vs. champion match for Jones.

That's way down the line, though.

Velasquez' wrestling is good enough that he was able to get up with Lesnar on top of him, and his striking is lethal enough that eight of his nine wins have come via (T)KO.

Not to mention, he's got cardio to go for miles (quite literally), and could push the pace against Jones to see what he could do with that.

Alistair Overeem

Alistair Overeem would pose another good challenge for Jones.

Overeem is a world-class kickboxer, and won the K-1 World Grand Prix last year.

Although he is a great striker, most of his wins have come via submission, and he's got a very dangerous guillotine working for him.

Overeem would also be bigger than Jones, and may look to bully him around the Octagon—but that probably wouldn't work out that well.

Brock Lesnar

This fight would be very interesting.

Everybody knows what Brock Lesnar's gameplan is every fight—take the opponent down, and beat his face to a bloody pulp.

It would be very interesting to see if Lesnar could get Jones down, and then, if he'd be able to land his bricks for hammerfists and beat Jones.

I feel like he would have a good shot at taking Jones down, with Jones' chicken legs and all.

Shane Carwin

If Rampage Jackson wasn't the definition of "a puncher's chance", then Shane Carwin definitely is.

Carwin was 12-0 with 12 first-round stoppages—then he met Brock Lesnar.

Lesnar submitted him, then JDS beat him via unanimous decision.

He could still be a nice name to put on Jones' resume, but unless he becomes a little more well-rounded, he's not much of a threat.

Frank Mir

Frank Mir is one of the longest-tenured UFC heavyweights, and is a true veteran of the sport.

Mir has developed some great striking, and is known for having great jiu jitsu, especially off his back.

Shogun had trouble trying to get leglocks against Jones, so it's unclear how successful Mir would be when looking for submissions.

But that doesn't mean it wouldn't be fun to find out.

Daniel Cormier

Ah yes, the first of the—hopefully—unexpected picks.

Daniel Cormier is a current finalist in the Strikeforce Heavyweight World Grand Prix, and has quite a resume.

Cormier was an Olympic wrestler in 2004. He was the captain of the Olympic wrestling team in 2008, although he was unable to participate due to kidney failure.

Would Jones be able to take him down?

Would Cormier be able to take Jones down?

A lot of questions with this one, and it would be a hell of a fight.

Did I mention the five-inch height advantage and 13.5-inch reach advantage?

Stefan Struve

This fight would epitomize "pick on someone your own size."

Stefan Struve is 6'11'', seven inches taller than Jones, and Struve has an 83'' reach, 1.5 inches shorter than Jones.

Jones skillset is much more impressive than Struve, and Struve would likely get demolished, but who doesn't want to see Jones take on someone who he can't jab from a foot away?

Pat Barry

Depending on how Pat Barry fares against Stefan Struve at UFC on Versus 6, he may actually stand a chance.

But not much of one.

It would be interesting to see if Pat Barry could chop down "Bones" with some of his vicious leg kicks.

But with Jones 10'' reach edge over Barry, this fight probably wouldn't last long.

Mirko Cro Cop

I only want to see this fight for one reason.

Would Cro Cop be able to kick Jones' head with him standing at 6'4"?!

Thanks for reading.

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @tmt2393.

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