UFC champ Jon Jones to heavyweight? Interim champ Fabricio Werdum tells him to stay put

Fabricio Werdum

The message from UFC interim heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum to light heavyweight titleholder Jon Jones was simple.

Stay in your own division.

Soon after Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) won a grueling UFC 182 pay-per-view headliner against Daniel Cormier (15-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) on Saturday for his eighth consecutive title defense, the 205-pound champ discussed potentially moving up to heavyweight and taking on reigning titleholder Cain Velasquez, Cormier’s teammate at American Kickboxing Academy.

“I’d fight Cain Velasquez in a heartbeat,” Jones said. “I really would. I would love to fight AKA’s best athletes, and I believe I’d defeat them all.”

However, Fabricio Werdum, who recently won the interim heavyweight title while Velasquez recovers from a knee injury, had a message for Jones (via Twitter):

Although Jones teased the potential move up in weight class, he then said he didn’t want to discuss it further. Besides, he’s got other challenges at light heavyweight awaiting him. Most notably? The winner of an upcoming UFC on FOX 14 headliner between Alexander Gustafsson (16-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) and Anthony Johnson (18-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) on Jan. 24.

For more on UFC 182, check out the UFC Events section of the site.