Jon Jones vs. Alistair Overeem: Can Jones Compete with the Heavyweights?

Jon Jones continued his assault on the UFC light heavyweight division this past Saturday, as the 24-year-old champion made routine work of former UFC champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the main event for UFC 135.

With the victory over Rampage, questions about who is left to challenge Jones at light heavyweight have been abundant, and some people are saying a move up to heavyweight is inevitable.

There are still some challenges at light heavyweight for Jones, and a super-fight with middleweight champion Anderson Silva would be every fan's dream come true. That being said, it doesn't stop us from speculating on potential heavyweight match-ups between Jones and the heavyweight elites.

UFC president Dana White addressed the media during the post-fight press conference last night.

"If he [Jones] does clean out the division, you know, he and I have talked about possibly heavyweight," Dana said.

A move to heavyweight for Jones is definitely a possibility if the UFC boss is talking openly about it with the media, so without further ado, let's look at some of the possible matchups at heavyweight for Jones.

Would Brock Lesnar's Size and Strength Be Too Much for Jones?

Brock Lesnar took the UFC heavyweight division by storm, winning five of his first six fights and claiming and defending the UFC heavyweight title on two occasions.

He is a big man and tremendous athlete for a man who cuts weight to make the 265 pound limit of the heavyweight division.

Being a former NCAA Division I champion who relies heavily on his wrestling to win his fights, one has to wonder if Jones would be able to deal with Brock's double legs.

Jones would definitely have to pack on a few pounds and thicken up those legs of his before facing a man of Lesnar's size. Despite his size and strength, in Lesnar's most recent loss to Cain Velasquez, the former champion didn't seem to be reacting well to getting hit in the face. Jones' dynamic striking might prove to be too much for Lesnar before he'd get a chance to implement his wrestling against Jones.

Lesnar is scheduled for his first fight back after undergoing surgery for diverticulitis against former Strikefoce heavyweight champion and 2010 K1 Grand Prix winner Alistair Overeem on Fox in November.

Overeem is probably the best heavyweight striker in all of MMA alongside Junior Dos Santos. Seeing how Lesnar reacts to an Overeem knee or punch will tell us whether or not he has conditioned himself to rolling with the punches.

If the big man hasn't gotten used to being hit, Jones would have a good chance at make Lesnar uncomfortable in the stand-up.

Alistair Overeem Brings Big Power and Excellent Striking to Table

Alistair Overeem, like Jones, started his career off in the light heavyweight division. At 6'5" and 205 pounds, Overeem had a strikingly similar build to Jones: long lanky limbs providing him with a ton of reach.

Jones should probably get on the phone with Overeem and talk about the horse meat diet that has turned Overeem in to the 260 pound behemoth that he is today.

Watching the highlight video above, one can see that Overeem has a very similar attack to Jones involving explosive and dynamic striking.

Overeem didn't have the kind of success Jones has had at light heavyweight, as he lost in almost every fight where he faced a step up in competition: Chuck Liddell, Mauricio Rua, Antonio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona to name a few.

The problem with Overeem at light heavyweight was that he would come out the aggressor early on, get tired and then wilt as soon as his opponent would land something of significance. Overeem attributed his poor performances at light heavyweight due to the weight cut and the fact that he was going through turbulent times in his personal life.

Since moving permanently to heavyweight, Overeem is 11-1-0 and one no contest. Some say he hasn't fought the toughest competition, and that is true, but he has been putting guys away in spectacular fashion.

What makes a fight between Overeem and Jones interesting is the fact that Overeem has won the K1 Grand Prix, which is the title that pretty much determines who the best pure striker is on the planet. Obviously, K1 isn't MMA, but, the fact that Overeem won the K1 tournament makes him one of the best heavyweight strikers in MMA. Seeing how Jones would deal with Overeem's striking and power would make for an interesting fight indeed.

Cain Velasquez Blends Wrestling and Striking to Perfection

Cain Velasquez is probably the perfect blend of speed, power and endurance in the heavyweight division, along with an excellent blend of NCAA Division I wrestling and boxing to round out his skill set.

Velasquez isn't the biggest heavyweight on the block at 240 pounds, but with solid victories over heavyweight behemoths like Ben Rothwell and Brock Lesnar, he proves the old adage true that "size really doesn't matter."

Velasquez has been able to use his superior endurance and speed to beat his opponents to the punch and his strong wrestling to put the dangerous strikers on their backs.

What becomes interesting in a Jones vs. Velasquez match up is that Velasquez wouldn't be faster than Jones and probably wouldn't have a huge advantage in endurance. Jones possesses very good wrestling himself.

Velasquez' lone advantage would probably lie in his power, something Velasquez isn't used to having the advantage in at heavyweight.

Would Jones be able to utilize his superior speed to beat Velasquez to the punch or would Velasquez be able to use his strength and wrestling to hold Jones down? Hopefully, this is something that will be answered should Jones make the move to heavyweight down the road.

Junior Dos Santos Possesses Incredible Boxing and Decent Takedown Defense

Junior Dos Santos has beaten up everyone he has faced so far in his young UFC career, and his success lies in his crisp boxing.

Like Velasquez, Dos Santos isn't the biggest heavyweight in the division, but he utilizes his speed and superior boxing to break his opponents down punch by punch until they have had enough.

Dos Santos has excellent head movement, great footwork and pinpoint accuracy in his striking.

Jones hasn't faced a fighter with the boxing prowess of Dos Santos. Of course, Jones could always wrestle Dos Santos; those Brazilians don't have the best take down defense right? Wrong. Dos Santos fought former NCAA Division II champion Shane Carwin this summer, and he had absolutely no trouble stuffing Carwin's best shots. In fact, Dos Santos scored a double leg of his own.

A fight with Dos Santos would probably be Jones' toughest fight at heavyweight because Dos Santos can keep the fight standing and his boxing is second to none, not just in the heavyweight division, but arguably in all of MMA.

Honorable Mentions and Conclusions on Jones' Potential at Heavyweight

The stiffest tests for Jones at heavyweight were listed earlier on, but there are some other fights at heavyweight that would make for interesting match ups as well.

Josh Barnett is in the Strikeforce heavyweight Grand Prix final, and if it weren't for the fact that Barnett isn't in the UFC, one could make the case that Barnett would be Jones' toughest fight. Barnett possesses excellent wrestling and a submission game that rivals the best submission artists in the division couple that with his size. He is a tough test for anyone, let alone a light heavyweight moving up.

Frank Mir is a former champion who possesses great submissions off his back and is competent enough in the striking game to hang with almost anybody. Jones would probably be the favorite against Mir, but because of Mir's Jiu-Jitsu, it would still be an interesting fight.

Whether or not Jones actually makes the jump to heavyweight is probably a long way away from being decided, but he does have the skill and the body type to make the jump.

With an 84.5-inch reach and 6'4" frame, it would simply be a matter of packing more muscle on to his body in order for him to be able to hang with the big men.

As stated earlier, Jones has a similar build to what Overeem had back when he was fighting 205 pounds, and look at him now.

Of course, when an athlete starts packing on weight, things like speed, endurance and flexibility can be impacted. It would be interesting to see if Jones could maintain his current fighting style after adding 30 to 40 pounds on to his frame.

For now, Jones has a lot of unfinished business at light heavyweight, but if he continues to tear through the division like he has, we might see him make that move to heavyweight sooner rather than later.

Leon Horne is a writer for Bleacher Report and is part of the BR MMA interview team, Follow @Leon_Horne

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