Joe Silva's Shoes: What's next for Derrick Lewis and UFC Fight Night 102's other winning fighters?

The UFC made its second stop in the state of New York in less than a month with UFC Fight Night 102, which took place Friday at Times Union Center in Albany. The event, which streamed on UFC Fight Pass, saw all four main-card fights end in a stoppage.

In the main event, heavyweight standout Derrick Lewis (17-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) extended his winning streak to five fights with an ugly but ultimately successful performance and fourth-round TKO of Shamil Abdurakhimov (17-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC).

Francis Ngannou (9-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), Corey Anderson (9-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) and Gian Villante (15-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) also earned victories, stopping their opponents inside the distance.

After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next. And with another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Joe Silva and Sean Shelby’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC Fight Night 102’s winning fighters.

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Gian Villante

Steve Bosse

Should fight: Steve Bosse
Why they should fight: Consistently one of the most exciting light heavyweights on the UFC roster, Villante earned a hard-fought TKO victory over octagon newcomer Saparbek Safarov in the “Fight of the Night.”

Villante might have a ways to go before he’s considered contender caliber, and it’s possible he doesn’t ever make it that far. He will always be good for an entertaining throwdown, though, and the exact same thing can be said for Bosse (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC).

Bosse has put together back-to-back wins after losing his UFC debut and is ready to face a notable name at 205 pounds. His style matches up perfectly with Villante, which means another “Fight of the Night”-type battle could be on the horizon.

Corey Anderson

Should fight: Misha Cirkunov
Why they should fight: Anderson’s ground game was too much for Sean O’Connell to fight off. “The Ultimate Fighter 19” winner used takedowns and ground-and-pound to batter his opponent to a stoppage, putting him back on track after a narrow loss to Mauricio Rua at UFC 198 in May.

Anderson is one of few fighters at light heavyweight who is under age 30, which is a promising sign for his future. The same can be said for Cirkunov (13-2 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who earned a first-round submission of Nikita Krylov at UFC 206 roughly 24 hours after Anderson picked up his win.

After his victory Anderson called out the winner of the Cirkunov vs. Krylov fight, though he said he wanted Krylov to win. That’s not what happened, though, and now he might be stuck with a fight against Cirkunov.

Although some might complain the matchup would set back a fighter with potential to be a future contender, both athletes are still young enough in their careers that they could afford it and still go on to great things.

Francis Ngannou

Should fight: Travis Browne
Why they should fight: There’s a new name to pay attention to in the UFC heavyweight division, and his name is Ngannou.

The towering Frenchman pushed his UFC record to 4-0 when he quickly dismantled and submitted a tough veteran in Anthony Hamilton, proving why many people are so high on him.

After putting away four consecutive mid- to lower-tier opponents, Ngannou made it clear he wants a step up in competition. He specifically mentioned Browne (18-5-1 MMA, 9-5-1 UFC) as an opponent he’d like to share the octagon with, and it’s hard to provide an argument as to why he shouldn’t get his wish.

Derrick Lewis

Should fight: Alexander Volkov
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Lewis should fight Volkov (27-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) next.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 102, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

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