Joe Silva’s Shoes: What's next for Donald Cerrone, UFC on FOX 17's other losing fighters?

Saturday’s UFC on FOX 17 four-fight main card featured a mix of competitive and lopsided bouts. The show ended with Rafael dos Anjos (25-7 MMA, 14-5 UFC) defending his lightweight title with a 66-second blowout of Donald Cerrone (28-7 MMA, 15-4 UFC).

In the co-headliner, ex-heavyweight champ Junior dos Santos (17-4 MMA, 11-3 UFC) suffered a setback in a long-awaited clash with Alistair Overeem (40-14 MMA, 5-3 UFC). Michael Johnson (16-8 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and Randa Markos (5-3 MMA, 1-2 UFC) also had unsuccessful trips to the octagon at Orlando, Fla.’s Amway Center.

After every event, fans wonder whom the losers 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 on FOX 17’s losing fighters.

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Randa Markos

Maryna Moroz

Should fight: Maryna Moroz
Why they should fight: The decision to quit her job and move to Montreal to train full-time at Tristar unfortunately didn’t pay off for Markos on Saturday. She suffered a unanimous-decision loss to promotional newcomer Karolina Kowalkiewicz and will be forced to reassess.

Markos is still a talented and highly regarded member of the strawweight division who’s making noticeable improvement to her game. She’s likely to continue those strides, and another opportunity to display what she’s learned should soon come against another notable opponent.

Moroz (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is looking to get back on track after she suffered her first UFC loss, to Valerie Letourneau at UFC Fight Night 74 in August. She entered the organization with an upset of Joanne Calderwood but failed to deliver in her follow-up performance. She’ll be eager to prove her debut win was no fluke, and Markos could be a perfect opponent to do that against.

Junior Dos Santos

Mark Hunt

Should fight: Mark Hunt
Why they should fight: After years of buildup to a fight with Overeem, former heavyweight champion Dos Santos suffered a second-round TKO loss to fall to 2-3 in his past five octagon appearances.

Dos Santos’ combination of crippling punching power and startling durability has made him one of the most dangerous fighters in his weight class. Lately, however, it seems Dos Santos is losing his ability to take damage. Overeem stopped the Brazilian faster than anyone else, and “Cigano” will have to be cautious going forward.

Hunt (11-10-1 MMA, 6-4-1 UFC) would be more than capable of handing Dos Santos another knockout loss, and “The Super Samoan” made it clear it’s a fight he wants. They already met once before at UFC 160 in May 2013, and Dos Santos left the octagon with a phenomenal spinning wheel-kick knockout.

Although Hunt is not the type to make excuses for his losses, he did take the fight with Dos Santos on short notice, and his travel to the fight was marred with issues. Hunt has done big things since the first bout while Dos Santos has somewhat struggled. A rematch on an even playing field would have the potential for another spectacular ending.

Michael Johnson and Donald Cerrone

Joe Rogan and Donald Cerrone

Should fight: Each other
Why they should fight: It was only a few months ago when Johnson was on a four-fight winning streak and trending toward a lightweight title shot. Now he’s dropped back-to-back fights and will have to go back to the drawing board in order to rebuild after a decision loss to Nate Diaz.

Johnson can take some solace in the fact he was awarded a “Fight of the Night” bonus in defeat, but that doesn’t make up for losing his position in the 155-pound rankings. He wasn’t by any means blown out by Diaz, but he’ll need to string together a series of victories to regain his momentum as a contender.

Cerrone will also be searching to regain some momentum after dos Anjos stopped him in his tracks. Cerrone had won eight consecutive fights prior to the title loss, and with two defeats to the current titleholder, “Cerrone” also has some serious work to do before he can viewed as a threat to the gold again.

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 17, check out the UFC Events section of the site.