Joe Silva’s Shoes: What's next for Eddie Alvarez and UFC 205's other losing fighters?

(ALSO SEE: Joe Silva’s Shoes: What’s next for UFC 205’s winning fighters?)

Defeats are rarely easy for fighters to accept. For UFC 205’s losing competitors, however, they can take solace in the fact they participated on perhaps the most stacked pay-per-view card in history on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Eddie Alvarez (28-5 MMA, 3-2 UFC) lost the UFC lightweight title in his first attempted defense when Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) knocked him out in the second round of the event headliner. No one lost in the co-main event, but no one won, either, because welterweight champ Tyron Woodley (16-3-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC) fought Stephen Thompson (13-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) to a majority draw.

Prior to that, Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) was handed the first loss of her career when she came up short to UFC strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk (13-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC).

Additionally, Chris Weidman (13-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) and Miesha Tate (18-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) were sent to the losers’ circle in decisive fashion.

After every event, fans wonder whom the losing fighters 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 205’s losing fighters.

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Miesha Tate

Miesha Tate

What’s next: Retirement
Why: Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Tate will make her exit from the sport on the disappointment of a two-fight losing skid. She announced her retirement following her loss to Raquel Pennington, bringing an end to her nearly nine-year, 25-fight career.

Tate’s contributions to the sport are numerous, but she will likely be best remembered for her title-winning upset of Holly Holm at UFC 196 in March as well as her pair of losses to longtime rival Ronda Rousey.

Retirements in MMA must always be taken with a grain of salt, but in Tate’s case, her decision to walk away could be one of the few that holds up permanently.

Chris Weidman

Chris Weidman

Should fight: Winner of Thales Leites vs. Krzysztof Jotko at UFC Fight Night 100
Why they should fight: Oh how quickly things can change in the world of MMA. Less than a year ago Weidman was the UFC middleweight champion, now he’s on a two-fight losing skid and in desperate need of a victory to keep up with the top tier of 185-pound contenders.

There’s no shame in losing to Yoel Romero, even if it is by crushing third-round knockout in a fight he was likely winning. Weidman took a lot of damage, but he still came out with his head held high, which is a promising sign for “All-American.”

After a pair of tough losses, Weidman should definitely be thrown a bit of a bone in the form of a favorable matchup that would help rebuild his confidence. The winner of this month’s UFC Fight Night 100 bout between Leites (26-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) and Jotko (18-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) wouldn’t be a gimme by any means, but it’s a significant step down from what Weidman has dealt with in recent years.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Should fight: Winner of Claudia Gadelha vs. Cortney Casey at UFC Fight Night 99
Why they should fight: After falling short of the women’s strawweight title in a unanimous decision champion Jedrzejczyk, Kowalkiewicz said her goal moving forward is to get another shot at the belt, but this time in her native Poland, and this time with her coming out on the winning end.

That won’t just magically happen, though. She’s going to have to put in the work. A path back to the top is already emerging for her, however, because UFC President Dana White said after UFC 205 that he would be interested in putting together a fight between Kowalkiewicz and another one of Jedrzejczyk’s rivals in Gadelha (13-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC).

Gadelha fights this month at UFC Fight Night 100 in Brazil. If she can beat Casey (6-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) it would perfectly set up a future showdown with Kowalkiewicz. Should she drop the ball and loses, though, Casey would likely slide into her spot and represent solid opponent for Kowalkiewicz, as well.

Tyron Woodley & Stephen Thompson

Should fight: Each other
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Woodley and Thompson should rematch for the welterweight title next following their majority draw result.

Eddie Alvarez

Should fight: Nate Diaz
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Alvarez should fight Diaz (19-11 MMA, 14-9 UFC) next after dropping the lightweight title.

For complete coverage of UFC 205, check out the UFC Events section of the site.