What could be next for Lyoto Machida, Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Erick Silva, Nicholas Musoke and Charles Oliveira after their main card wins last night (Feb. 15, 2014) in Santa Catarina, Brazil? We take a look at the best viable options after their impressive performances at UFC Fight Night 36: "Machida vs. Mousasi" from Arena Jaragua.
Another Brazil card, another set of potential mixed martial arts (MMA) matches to examine.
UFC Fight Night 36: "Machida vs. Mousasi" wasn't the most memorable event, but at least we got a pretty decent main event. Lyoto Machida beat Gegard Mousasi over the course of five rounds, possibly penciling his name in as the next UFC Middleweight championship contender (watch highlights from fight here).
Also making a claim for the shot was Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, who secured the victory against Francis Carmont in the co-main event (watch highlights here).
Indeed, after every fight card, MMA fans are already thinking about what the future holds for the stars of the show. With another night of fights, let's peer into our crystal ball and predict possible matchmaking scenarios.
With that being said, let us examine potential match ups for each of the UFC Fight Night 36 main card winners:
Winner: Charles Oliveira
Who He Should Fight Next: Winner of Max Holloway vs. Andre Fili at UFC 172
Why They Should Fight: Umm, barnburner ... anyone?
Both of those options would see Oliveira in a scrappy fight, and you can't say a fight with either Max Holloway or Andre Fili would be boring.
Just the thought of Oliveira standing toe-to-toe with "Blessed," or getting into a brawl with Fili would be salivating.
All these dudes are pretty lanky Featherweights, making sense for Oliveira to face an up and comer in his next bout rather than be fed to the wolves since he has already had a number of tough fights where he was overmatched quickly.
Winner: Nicholas Musoke
Who He Should Fight Next: William Macario
Why The Should Fight: Musoke has proved his worth thus far in UFC, stopping Alessio Sakara and coming back from the brink of defeat against Viscardi Andrade last night in Brazil.
William Macario is coming off of an impressive victory over Bobby Voelker at UFC 168, destroying the Strikeforce veteran on the feet for three rounds.
Musoke and Macario would be gripping on the feet and even more compelling in the grappling exchanges.
Remember that "Patolino" was dominated on the mat before being submitted by Leonardo Santos in his Octagon debut at UFC on Fuel TV 10 and that Musoke used grappling in both the second and third rounds to overcome Andrade.
It's an interesting bout to consider.
Winner: Erick Silva
Who He Should Fight Next: Winner of Jake Ellenberger vs. Tarec Saffiedine at UFC 172
Why They Should Fight: There's a bit of reluctance on this author's part to match up Silva with a difficult opponent for his next fight.
That's because he completely obliterates everyone else who either isn't ranked or well rounded. But, big fights are only going to help the young fighter cement himself as a true contender in the near future, so it's a no brainer here.
You don't need a pundit to tell you the Welterweight division is like a volcano about to erupt right now. And after Jake Ellenberger and Tarec Saffiedine settle their score at UFC 172 (their original fight was supposed to take place at UFC Fight Night 34 in Singapore), throw Silva in there with the top fighters in the division.
Stylistically, both Ellenberger and Saffiedine can strike until their limbs fall off and they both have impressive grappling pedigrees. Silva is good in both those departments, and either fight for the young Brazilian would be one hell of a cracker.
Winner: Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
Who He Should Fight Next: Winner of Michael Bisping vs. Tim Kennedy at TUF: "Nations" Finale
Why They Should Fight: If you feel that "Jacare" should fight the main event winner of UFC Fight Night 36, that's understandable, too.
If we try and match up every contender in the Middleweight division systematically, it will avoid putting the top two contenders together for a bout when a clear-cut winner emerged in the main event last night.
One that was promised a title shot ... unlike Souza.
It's true that "Jacare" has already beaten Kennedy and that he may have done enough to convince the masses he has what it takes to challenge either Chris Weidman or Vitor Belfort.
In the case of Bisping, it's not that he hasn't fought anybody, but he's missing a massive win on his record that would leave no doubt in our minds that he is ready for a title shot.
One more for "Jacare" and then sky's the limit.
Winner: Lyoto Machida
Who He Should Fight Next: Winner of Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 173
Why They Should Fight: "The Dragon" was told he would get a shot at the title with a win and he did exactly that.
He really is the best possible option at this very moment, and after last night's dissection of Mousasi, the promotion may not want to pass up the opportunity to book "The Dragon" during his Middleweight rise.
Weidman against Machida would be a satisfactory main event on all accounts, and if Machida finds himself against Belfort, there's no doubt UFC could have its "soccer stadium-caliber fight" in Brazil.
It won't mess around with that.
Machida is a better bet than "Jacare" when it comes down to popularity (you can argue all you want on the matter). The truth is he was told he would be next in line with a win, and he won.
It's up to the boss now.
For extensive coverage of UFC Fight Night 36: "Machida vs. Mousasi" click here.