Joe Silva's Shoes: What's next for the UFC Fight Night 27 winners?

The UFC returned to the state of Indiana for the first time in nearly three years on Wednesday as “UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2? hit Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

In the headlining act, former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit (29-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) stopped Martin Kampmann (20-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) with strikes in the fourth round in the event’s “Fight of the Night.”

Time after time, “The Natural Born Killer” is proving to be one of the most exciting fighters on the UFC roster, as he’s earned a post-fight bonus in five of his past six trips to the octagon.

Supporting the anticipated rematch in the co-main event, Rafael dos Anjos (20-6 MMA, 9-4 UFC) outpointed Donald Cerrone (20-6 MMA, 7-3 UFC) to a decision win and surprised many observers with the most complete performance of his UFC career.

“The Ultimate Fighter” winners Kelvin Gastelum (7-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and Court McGee (15-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC), as well as Takeya Mizugaki (18-7-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Brad Tavares (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) earned victories to round out the main card. No matter the nature of each man’s victory, they all accomplished the ultimate goal of the sport, and that’s being declared the winner at the fight’s conclusion.

After every fight card, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next.

With another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Joe Silva’s (and Sean Shelby’s) shoes, and play UFC matchmaker.

Brad Tavares
Who He Should Fight Next: CB Dollaway
Why They Should Fight: Tavares has been one of the most successful middleweights in the UFC to come from the 11th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show, and after picking up his fourth straight win against Bubba McDaniel in the UFC Fight Night 27 main-card opener, it’s time for the Hawaiian to face a more familiar name.

Dolloway was a runnerup on his season of “TUF” and is without a fight. Wrestling is his biggest strength, and with Tavares’ lone UFC defeat coming to another talented wrestler in Aaron Simpson (who also is Dolloway’s training partner), it would provide a true test to how far Tavares has come in that area.

Takeya Mizugaki
Who He Should Fight Next: Winner of George Roop vs. Francisco Rivera at UFC 166
Why They Should Fight: If you take away the wins and losses away from Mizuagaki’s record and look purely at the list of names the 29-year-old has faced since joining Zuffa in early 2009, he’s never been given an easy fight.

Mizugaki had struggled to find consistency through most of his UFC/WEC tenure up until the past year, when he’s started to put everything together with a three-fight win streak.

The most impressive win of that streak is without question his most recent upset of Erik Perez, a highly regarded prospect out of Mexico who many had hopes to be the country’s version of Irish sensation Conor McGregor. Apparently no one informed Mizugaki about those plans, though, as he derailed the hype train and made a statement of his own.

Even though Mizugaki is on a commendable run, the fact he has faced so many of the top Zuffa-signed bantamweights significantly narrows the number of logical matchups for the Japanese fighter.

Two fighters he has yet to stand across the octagon from are Roop and Rivera, who are slated to go to battle at UFC 166 in October. If Mizugaki is content with sitting on the sidelines until the winner of that matchup becomes available, then the winner would have a great chance of moving a few slots closer to a Top 10 ranking.

Court McGee
Who He Should Fight Next: Kelvin Gastelum
Why They Should Fight: The UFC appears to be in the mood of matching winners of “The Ultimate Fighter” against each other, so why not continue the trend and have McGee face Gastelum next?

Both men earned impressive victories at UFC Fight Night 27 and are undefeated in the UFC welterweight division.

McGee was able to hold off a talented up-and-comer in Robert Whittaker, but Gastelum possesses an entirely different set of skills as the mix of grappling and knockout power seen in his highlight-reel finish of Brian Melancon is sure to give “The Crusher” all he can handle.

Gastelum was originally scheduled to face Paulo Thiago at Wednesday’s event, and while that still is a compelling matchup, McGee has had more success of late, and his relentless style would arguably present a bigger threat the youngest winner of the “TUF” franchise.

Kelvin Gastelum
Who He Should Fight Next: Court McGee
Why They Should Fight: See Above.

Rafael dos Anjos
Who He Should Fight Next: Winner of Pat Healy vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 165
Why They Should Fight: Dos Anjos’ decision of Cerrone was the most significant of his UFC career and with five straight wins under his belt, there’s no denying the Brazilian is now “in the mix” of title contenders at 155 pounds.

It’s difficult to tell what the lightweight title picture will look like after Benson Henderson and Anthony Pettis collide for a second time at UFC 164 this weekend, but regardless of how the fight shakes out, dos Anjos is sitting pretty and is just a few victories away from earning a shot at the strap.

The next step toward the championship is clearly another matchup against a fighter in the thick of the lightweight rankings, and the winner of UFC 165's Healy vs. Nurmagomedov will be right there.

While Healy’s last win over Jim Miller was overturned due to a positive drug test, many still look at the fight as a win for “Bam Bam,” and stringing together two more against Nurmagomedov and dos Anjos would move him closer to that elusive world championship fight than ever before.

As for Nurmagomedov, the incredible Russian is in the midst of one of the sport’s great winning streaks. A victory over Healy would push his professional record to 21-0, and if he could follow up with a win over dos Anjos, “The Eagle” would soar closer to a title fight.

There are a lot of moving parts at 155 pounds, but a lot will be sorted out in the coming weeks. Regardless of who comes out on top at UFC 165, the winner facing dos Anjos would add more clarity to the division’s true pecking order.

Carlos Condit
Who He Should Fight Next: Winner of Rory MacDonald vs. Robbie Lawler at UFC 167
Why They Should Fight: While Condit got a key win for his career by avenging his loss to Kampmann, “The Natural Born Killer” is the odd man out in the welterweight division due to the fact every ranked 170-pound fighter currently signed to the UFC is booked for a fight or coming off a loss.

After a tough rematch with Kampmann, it may be in Condit’s best interest to take some time off and see how the weight class develops as the end of 2013 approaches.

The former interim champion says he wants to face the winner of the UFC 167 title bout between Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks, but less than one year removed from losses to both, it’s unlikely he will be granted a rematch so soon.

Aside from the Nov. 16 title affair, the fight Condit will be keeping the closest eye on takes place the same night between MacDonald and Lawler, both of whom would be very intriguing opponents for him.

Despite the fact Condit is just got back in the win column after two straight losses and MacDonald has five straight victories, the rematch between the two has been inevitable for quite some time and needs to take place.

Condit was just given a chance to avenge his first UFC loss against Kampmann, and now it’s time to pay it forward and present MacDonald with that same opportunity.

Condit’s status has elevated since the initial meeting between the two at UFC 115 in 2010 and with “The Natural Born Killer” having just held the interim UFC title, MacDonald is catching him at a peak moment in his career and could use Condit’s recent success to further solidify his status as one of the world’s elite welterweights.

Condit’s first showing against the Canadian was far from his best performance in the UFC. He was outfought for the first two rounds before coming back in the third to stop MacDonald with strikes with just seconds left in the fight.

Condit vs. MacDonald 2 failed to come to fruition this past March at UFC 158, but if “Ares” can get by Lawler, it’s time to book this highly anticipated rematch again.

Many expect MacDonald to have his way with Lawler, but should “Ruthless” come through with the upset, a fight with Condit is a mouthwatering proposition. Condit has a lot of fights ahead of him that are going to excite fans – now he must be patient and wait for the division to unfold before his eyes.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 27, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Carlos Condit)