It was a historic night in Las Vegas.

Jon Jones, a consensus pick as the greatest UFC fighter of all time, returned to the Octagon after a three-year absence. But it wasn't your garden-variety comeback.

Now 35, Jones was more than 40 pounds heavier than the weight at which he'd last competed and entered rare air in doing so, defeating Ciryl Gane to win the UFC heavyweight championship that had been vacated when Francis Ngannou left the company.

Jones hadn't fought since defeating Dominick Reyes at UFC 247 in February 2020 and winning his 13th championship bout at light heavyweight, spanning two title wins and 11 successful defenses. In beating Gane, he not only extended his personal undefeated streak to 18 straight (with one no-contest) since a disqualification loss in 2009, but he also became just the eighth fighter to win full-fledged belts at multiple weights.

Needless to say, the GOAT's championship resurgence has sparked interest in his future plans, and the B/R combat team happily waded into the discussion and came up with a list of potential foes that would combine a compelling storyline with an interesting fight.

Take a look at our picks, and let us know what you think with a comment of your own.

Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou won't be getting holiday greetings from Dana White this year.

The hulking champion and the UFC czar had a long-running feud over myriad issues over the years, and the disagreements came to a head when White released Ngannou from his contractual obligations to the company and stripped him of the heavyweight belt.

He upped the ante during the Jones-Gane fight week by saying Ngannou will never compete in the UFC again and punctuating the declaration with "It's over."

Maybe. Or maybe not.

Lest anyone forget, White is a businessman.

And though he may not always admit it, he's had a hard time in the past walking away from gigantic paydays, even if he'd suggested beforehand they were unlikely.

What could be a bigger payday than Jones vs. Ngannou?

A champion who never lost his title in the cage facing off against the man who picked up the vacant title but just happens to be considered the greatest UFC fighter ever.

Put it in Vegas. Put it on Fight Island. Put it on Mars. If you promote it, they will come.

As for Jones, consider the first verbal grenade lobbed.

"Francis had the opportunity to face me, and he opted out of the opportunity. If anyone should be criticized, it's Francis Ngannou," he told Amine Mohamed of RMC Sport (11:11 mark). "If I'm correct, he was offered the biggest contract in heavyweight history. He had the opportunity to be a guy to dethrone me. He didn't believe in himself. Francis didn't believe in himself. He wasn't willing to gamble on himself."

Stipe Miocic

Sometimes, the promotions make themselves.

Jones is considered the greatest light heavyweight champion in UFC history. Meanwhile, Stipe Miocic is usually given that title when it comes to the heavyweight division.

And whaddya know? Jones now has Miocic's old belt, and the ex-champ is ambitious.

He was bummed he didn't get his own shot at Jones before Ngannou vacated the title, but he was all-in for the winner's first title defense when the Jones-Gane fight was announced. White made it official on Friday night when he confirmed the Ohioan is next.

"He's absolutely the next one," White said.

Miocic began his first title reign with a KO of Fabrício Werdum at UFC 198 in 2016 but lost the belt by KO to Daniel Cormier after three defenses (including a decision over Ngannou). He regained the title from Cormier in a rematch and beat him again in a trilogy fight before losing to Ngannou by vicious second-round KO two years ago.

He's not fought since but could become the company's second three-time heavyweight champion after Randy Couture, who started reigns in 1997, 2000 and 2007 while winning six title fights in the weight class.

"I would love to cement the legacy even more," Miocic told Cormier in an interview (8:17 mark).

"But [either Jones or Gane] is a good fight, and whoever it is, I'll take whoever the winner is and beat that ass."

Sergei Pavlovich

Every weight class has one: the guy who's simply forced himself into the title-fight discussion with either one particularly impressive victory or a long string of success.

Consider Sergei Pavlovich qualified on both counts.

The Russian-born striker stands an imposing 6'3" and has a gargantuan 84-inch reach, dimensions he's put to use amid a streak of five straight first-round KOs.

None of those wins have gone longer than 4:03, and the last two have lasted a combined 109 seconds against high-profile contenders Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa, respectively.

The latter win came on a Fight Night show, earned Pavlovich his third performance bonus and quieted a raucous pro-Tuivasa crowd in Orlando, Florida, with its sudden brutality.

The 30-year-old was the backup fighter for the Jones-Gane event in case one of the principals hadn't been able to go. He's ranked third in the division behind Gane and Miocic and is penciled in to face No. 4 Curtis Blaydes on a Fight Night card in April.

He's 17-1 as a pro and 5-1 in the UFC, having started the win streak after a KO loss to Alistair Overeem in 2018.

"He has so much belief in his power that he's willing to just throw caution to the wind," Cormier said after Pavlovich's win over Tuivasa. "It is amazing to watch him and his approach."

Jamahal Hill

Into every Next Opponent slideshow, a little hyperbole must fall.

And if the Ngannou suggestion was just a little too far-flung for you, how about we keep it with the weekend's prevailing double-champ theme?

Jamahal Hill, anyone?

OK, we know he's only a newly-minted belt-holder at light heavyweight, having just punished Glover Teixeira over 25 minutes to win a vacant crown at UFC 283 in January.

But he's also ambitious. And he's dynamic. And he's talented.

And it turns out he went all-in on his career path because of a guy named Jones.

"... the emergence of Jon Jones gave me somebody who I felt like could, one day, give me the type of fight that I wanted," he told Bleacher Report.

Upon further review, it's not as crazy as it might sound.

Both Jones and Hill stand 6'4" and possess the sort of versatile athleticism that makes them difficult to contend with. Jones would have a five-inch reach advantage (84 to 79, but, assuming Hill would choose to eventually put on the weight Jones did, he'd walk into the same cage with the same sort of lanky-but-powerful frame.

He's 6-1 in the UFC with a no-contest and four finishes, and his comprehensive beatdown of Teixeira convinced the Brazilian veteran to remove his gloves and retire after the fight.

And now that he's a champion, he's determined to build a superstar-level career.

What better way than with a Jones fight?

"It feels like all my hard work paid off to earn my spot in history," he said. "That's what the label of being champ or the title of being champ means to me. If we win the fight, that's building a legacy. Building my legacy, cementing my place in history, and now doing that against fighting the best fighters and taking them out."

Brock Lesnar

It'd be fun, but it's unlikely Jones will renew his competitive rivalry with Daniel Cormier.

But there just may be a rivalry opportunity available with another ex-heavyweight champ.

Back in his days as a light heavyweight, Jones was involved in some baiting with none other than Brock Lesnar, who's had the unique distinction of being a titleholder with both the UFC and the WWE.

In fact, after defeating Cormier at UFC 214 in 2017, Jones went straight for the verbal throat by saying, "Brock Lesnar, if you want to know what it feels like to get your ass kicked by a guy who weighs 40 pounds less than you, meet me in the Octagon."

Lesnar cautioned Jones to be careful with his challenges, but Jones was back at it in 2019 and suggested he'd embarrass a too-slow Lesnar—who was a UFC champ in 2008 after a defeat of Randy Couture and defended twice before losing the belt to Alistair Overeem.

Lesnar has not fought in the Octagon since a 2016 bout with Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

He is scheduled for a match at WrestleMania in April and could conceivably return to MMA if he decides to make that his pro wrestling, at least for now, swan song.

"I think fighting Brock Lesnar would have been really cool," Jones told Karisa Maxwell of The Sporting News during the Gane fight week. "Brock isn't the most technical guy, but he has a massive fanbase. He's a lot bigger than me.

"And it would have been one of those really cool. kind of David and Goliath situations. It would have been really cool for cross-sport promoting, and I think we both would have done great things for our family and for our team. Financially, that would have been massive.

"Never say never. Brock, if you're out there."