Joe Silva's Shoes: What's next for UFC Fight Night 36's winners?

The UFC traveled to the MMA hotbed of Brazil for the 13th time on Saturday night for “UFC Fight Night 36: Machida vs. Mousasi,” which went down inside Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil.

Lyoto Machida (21-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) had his hand raised for the second time since dropping to the UFC’s middleweight division with a decision victory over Gegard Mousasi (34-4-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) in the main event of the evening after a striking-heavy affair that lasted all five rounds.

The undercard also had a number of notable winners, as Ronaldo Souza (20-3 MMA, 3-0 UFC), Erick Silva (16-4 MMA, 4-3 UFC), Nicholas Musoke (12-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) and Charles Oliveira (17-4 MMA, 5-4 UFC) all earned victories over their respective opponents.

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’s (and Sean Shelby’s) shoes, and play UFC matchmaker.

CHARLES OLIVEIRA
Should fight: Felipe Arantes
Why they should fight: Oliveira had a tough run of luck with back-to-back losses against Cub Swanson and Frankie Edgar, but now that he’s back on the winning track after dispatching of Andy Ogle (9-4 MMA, 1-3 UFC), the Brazilian can try to build some momentum in what is still a very young career.

With all four of his UFC losses coming to fighters ranked in the top 10 of their respective weight classes, Oliveira is clearly very talented and exciting, he just hasn’t crossed the talent threshold needed to be one of the elite.

The 24-year-old needs time to build a winning streak, and with that, some confidence. A matchup with someone like Felipe Arantes (16-6-1 MMA, 3-2-1 UFC), who picked up a win over Maximo Blanco on the UFC Fight Night 36 preliminary-card, fits the bill perfectly.

Oliveira should be given a chance to regain his footing before being thrown in the cage against another top-tier opponent. And on the flip side, Arantes would jump at the opportunity to fight such a well-known fighter.

NICHOLAS MUSOKE
Should fight: Erick Silva
Why they should fight: See below.

ERICK SILVA
Should fight: Nicholas Musoke
Why they should fight: Aside from his bogus DQ loss to Carlo Prater, Brazilian finishing specialist Silva has only lost to fighters who are or once were ranked in the top 10 of the UFC’s welterweight division.

Similar to what was mentioned with Oliveira, “Indio” has struggled to get past the next level of competition. But before throwing him back in with the wolves, perhaps it would be best to allow him to attempt to get a winning streak going for the first time in his UFC career.

Silva got a much-needed victory when he steamrolled overmatched UFC newcomer Takenori Sato (17-9-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on Saturday. It was an expected result and by no means should Silva get another easy win, but there would be no problem with pitting him against someone like Musoke.

The Swedish fighter is 2-0 in the UFC thus far and would surely relish facing an opponent with Silva’s name value after defeating the relatively unknown Viscardi Andrade (17-6 MMA, 1-1 UFC). Musoke already proved he can be successful by going to Brazil and defeating a hometown favorite. But could he do it again against someone of Silva’s caliber? That’s the question.

RONALDO SOUZA
Should fight: Winner of Michael Bisping vs. Tim Kennedy at The Ultimate Fighter: Nations Finale
Why they should fight: Souza has impressed since joining the UFC ranks from the now-defunct Strikeforce organization and if he can stay healthy, his future is bright.

“Jacare” has an unblemished record inside the octagon since joining the UFC roster, but he still lacks the name value and/or signature victory needed to challenge for a world title.

The middleweight division is more crowded than in the past several years, and Souza is right on the verge of becoming the top contender. A fight against the winner of April’s Michael Bisping (24-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) vs. Tim Kennedy (17-4 MMA, 2-0 UFC) showdown has the potential to create a title contender regardless of who comes out on top.

Souza will be forced to sit out until he can figure out the severity of his current injury woes, but once he’s ready to return only big matchups will be presented, and this one appears to make the most sense.

LYOTO MACHIDA
Should fight: Winner of Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 173
Why they should fight: The matchmaking here is a layup. We know when and where the next middleweight championship fight is going down. We also know there is no contender more worthy of a title shot than Machida. That’s really all there is too it.

While it could be a while before the winner of Chris Weidman (11-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) and Vitor Belfort (24-10 MMA, 13-6 UFC) is ready to fight again – especially if the winner suffers an injury in the fight – Machida is at the point in his career where it’s hard to believe he wouldn’t wait as long as needed for a title bout to come to fruition.

The 35-year-old was visibly hobbled after his victory over Mousasi and claimed he could have a broken foot. If that is indeed the case, it would further solidify Machida’s choice to wait.

UFC officials have said they will wait until after Weidman and Belfort face off to promise the No. 1 contender position to anyone, but unless something unforeseen happens, it should be Machida.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 36, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza)