What's next for Jon Jones?

After crushing Vladimir Matyushenko last night at UFC on Versus 2 in San Diego, Calif., it's almost a consensus that Jon Jones needs a step up in competition.

So, that leaves us trying to figure out who he should face. Here's a list of candidates to be the next sacrificial lamb opponent for Jones.

Forrest Griffin — Griffin seems to be the leading candidate to fight Jones next. He is a solid fighter, a name draw and very capable of giving Jones a test. He brings stout leg kicks to the table and a solid ground game off his back, both things Jones has yet to have to deal with. It's likely he wouldn't finish Jones with punches, but would give Jones more of a test. Griffin also is a very large light-heavyweight and Jones has yet to deal with someone as big as he is. Still, Griffin is not that athletic, so fighting Griffin might not be the type of test Jones needs at this point, but everything given, it's the fight that makes the most sense.

Thiago Silva — Silva had to pull out of his UFC 117 fight with an injury, so the timing lines up for him to fight Jones in his next fight if that's the direction Joe Silva and Dana White want to go. Silva brings a solid striking game (but unlike Griffin, he brings it with power) to the table, and that's certainly something Jones hasn't faced. Although Silva would bring Jones more of a challenge on the feet, Jones would be too big for Silva on the ground, so it's almost the opposite of Griffin. Silva probably would be the better test at this point, but a win against Silva doesn't mean much to the average fan, and the goal here is to make Jones a bigger star.

Tito Ortiz — Obviously this fight would not be competitive whatsoever. Ortiz brings nothing to the game in this day and age that would give Jones even the slightest problem. This fight would be practical from the standpoint that Ortiz has quite the following (both lovers and haters) and that would help make Jones into a bigger star after he destroyed Ortiz. This would be like a Ortiz/Ken Shamrock fight. Of course, Ortiz would have to get past Matt Hamill to make this fight happen, although if Hamill happens to go down with an injury and has to pull out of the fight, Jon Jones has to be the No. 1 fighter to call on Joe Silva's list.

Matt Hamill — Yes, this is a rematch, but it certainly makes sense. Jones was dominating Hamill before being disqualified for using illegal elbows. He seriously hurt Hamill. This is the same scenario as Ortiz. If Ortiz has to pull out, Jones has to get the call. And if Hamill beats Ortiz, a Jones-Hamill rematch makes sense, but it's certainly not a fight I'd go to unless all other options (see the three people above) were exhausted.

SBN coverage of UFC on Versus 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko