UFC light-heavyweight champ Jon Jones is still thinking about moving up a division, changing his mind after previously writing off fights at heavyweight.

At a press conference this past Friday in Los Angeles, Jones (21-1 MMA, 15-1 UFC) indicated he’s interested in fighting in the big-man division and believes he could dethrone champ Cain Velasquez(13-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC).

Jones, 27, fights No. 1 contender Anthony Johnson (19-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) in UFC 187’s pay-per-view headliner on May 23, but he remains restless when it comes to his longterm outlook.

At the “UFC: Welcome to the Show” event promoting the promotion’s spring event schedule, Jones first poked fun at a reporter’s question of a possible move to heavyweight and quipped, “Aw, you’re going to ask me that in California? C’mon.”

“I don’t know when I’m going to move up in weight,” Jones continued. “I’ve entertained the thought of going to heavyweight so many times, and I think right now, with all due respect to Anthony, I believe I’ll win that fight and get into superfights and rematches.

“But if I do go to heavyweight, and when I do go to heavyweight, I do believe I have the skillset to beat Cain.”

That statement predictably brought an outpouring of both cheers and boos from the Los Angeles audience. Jones gave a thumbs down and then a thumbs up, a gesture he’s previously used when he stepped on the scale for fights.

Ever the polarizing figure, Jones, who shocked the MMA world by testing positive for cocaine after his UFC 182 win over Daniel Cormier earlier this year, defused the situation by explaining his rationale for bulking up.

“Cain’s a magnificent opponent,” he said. “My main reason for believing I’ll beat Cain is his size. He’s not one of these massive heavyweights that is just going to outweigh me and out-power me in every situation. He’s a guy that I can totally compete with; I believe I’m smart enough to compete with him.

“So yeah, when it happens, it will be a good one. Make it happen, Dana. Wanna negotiate?”

UFC President Dana White responded, “Let’s do it,” and then gestured to Johnson, who was sitting on the opposite side of the podium. “You’ve got this one first.”

Johnson hopes to deny Jones his ninth title defense. “Rumble” knows a lot about bulking up after an improbable comeback in the UFC as a former welterweight turned light-heavyweight fighter. He’s won his past three fights and is now the No. 2 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light-heavyweight rankings (Jones, of course, is No. 1).

Johnson expects his punching power to play a deciding factor in the matchup. As with every challenger facing the champ, he must contend with a long reach, clinch work and wrestling skills. Jones currently is nearly a 3-1 favorite to win.

It’s hard to say how the odds would fall if Jones met Velasquez, but the heavyweight champ also has his work cut out for him. A delayed meeting with Fabricio Werdum (19-5-1 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is scheduled for June 13 at UFC 188, with Werdum holding the interim title he won after Velasquez was forced to back out from a title fight this past November due to injury.

So right now, the superfight remains in the fantasy matchmaking category, of which Jones is very familiar. He previously indicated he might move to heavyweight by the end of 2013 before reversing his stance.

It’s not a stretch he could reverse it again.

For more on UFC 187 and UFC 188, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.