Jon Jones would 'totally entertain' fighting Junior dos Santos

And the list grows one name longer.

When Alistair Overeem tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone and pissed off his bosses at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) not long ago, it threw the main event of UFC 146 on May 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada into doubt.

"The Reem" was scheduled to challenge Junior dos Santos for the heavyweight championship for the promotion's annual Memorial Day weekend extravaganza, but is now facing a hearing in front of the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) on April 24 to determine whether or not he will be granted a license to fight.

He'll need a damn good explanation for why his T/E ratio was so high and as Larry Pepe notes right here, he may already have a strategy in place.

Interestingly enough, the UFC has elected to wait until after Overeem's hearing to make a decision on who will be fighting dos Santos. That could be because they hope to see "Demolition Man" come up with a good reason for his drug test failure to clear his name.

Then again, maybe it's because they want to wait for the outcome of the light heavyweight championship showdown taking place just three days prior at UFC 145 when Jon Jones defends his belt against Rashad Evans.

Because hey, why not throw "Bones" into the mix if he emerges victorious?

Sound crazy? It may be. But it's not any more crazy than fans clamoring for Mark Hunt to be given a crack at the throne or for writers to openly hope for Fedor Emelianenko to finally make his way to the UFC or for Dan Henderson -- a puffed up middleweight -- to step up to the plate and garner a great deal of support while doing so.

Adding fuel to the flames is a recent interview Jones did with PricklyPairStudios saying he would "definitely entertain" taking the fight.

"You know, it's hard to even say because of two factors: First, it would be disrespectful of me to just look past Rashad completely like, 'Oh, this fight's already done.' Rashad is going to be a huge test and I'm excited for this great challenge. And you know, honestly, it is something I would totally entertain. But at the same time, I have so much respect for Junior dos Santos. He's such a cool dude, you know what I mean? He's just such a cool dude. Fighting him is just like... Me and him, he treated me like his brother when we were in Brazil together. We did a lot of fun stuff in Brazil. He's just a cool dude. Challenging him out of nowhere would be hitting him upside the head like, 'Where did Jones come from? Why does Jones want to fight me?' I'm not saying he's scared of me, by any means, I'm sure he's not. If it was somebody else, I would definitely go for it. But it's Junior. I don't know, I'm not even a heavyweight so to pick a fight with Junior doesn't really make sense to me. There's a lot of work to be done in the light heavyweight division."

Now that's interesting.

Jones has already expressly stated his desire to move up to the heavyweight division once he completely overruns the landscape at 205-pounds. After all, he's a massive man and the move has long been thought an inevitability.

But would he really rush it and jump straight into a title fight against the best heavyweight in the world just 35 days after (hypothetically) defeating one of the best light heavyweights in the world?

That's a tall order and while fight fans may salivate at such a scenario, it's patently unrealistic. That's all without mentioning the fact that the UFC would never want to (potentially) sacrifice its brightest young star by rushing him into a fight he's not ready for, even if it looks the opposite.

Even if the idea of him winning that fight isn't all that far fetched.

No fighter in the history of the UFC has held titles in two different weight classes at the same time and there may have never been a candidate to do so as gifted as Jon Jones. And maybe one day he'll get that chance.

But that day isn't likely to be May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Overeem could still receive a license to fight and even if he doesn't, the UFC would probably make the smart play and match "Cigano" up with a credible heavyweight who has already earned his way to a title shot within the division.

Plus, it would be a grave mistake to ever count out "Suga" Rashad Evans. Believe that.

Still, what do you Maniacs think of a Junior dos Santos vs. Jon Jones bout? It's not likely to happen, sure, but that doesn't mean we can't explore the possibilities of the match-up. Sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts on this fantasy fight.