Sean Shelby's Shoes: What's next for Derrick Lewis and UFC Fight Night 105's other winning fighters?

The UFC made its second stop in Atlantic Canada on Sunday with UFC Fight Night 105, which took place at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The event, which aired on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass, saw three of six main-card fights end in a stoppage.

In the main event, heavyweight standout Derrick Lewis (18-4 MMA, 9-2 UFC) extended his winning streak to six fights with a brutal knockout of Travis Browne (19-6-1 MMA, 9-6-1 UFC) in a thrilling “Fight of the Night” affair.

Johny Hendricks (18-6 MMA, 13-6 UFC), Gavin Tucker (10-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Elias Theodorou (13-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC), Sara McMann (11-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) and Paul Felder (13-3 MMA, 5-3 UFC) also earned victories which ranged from highly competitive to utterly dominant.

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 Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC Fight Night 105’s winning fighters.

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Paul Felder

Paul Felder

Should fight: Gilbert Burns
Why they should fight: Felder avoided a fourth loss in his past six fights when he defeated a significantly less experienced UFC competitor with a first-round TKO victory over Alessandro Ricci.

Ricci marked an obvious step down in strength of opposition form what Felder has faced of late and it showed. “The Irish Dragon” improved to 3-1 in his past four, and the lone setback in that stretch came in a grizzly doctor’s stoppage against Francisco Trinaldo at UFC Fight Night 95 in September.

Felder was originally scheduled to fight Burns (11-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at UFC 208 earlier this month in Brooklyn, N.Y. It fell through when the Brazilian suffered an injury and Felder was rescheduled against Ricci, but it would be logical to put the lightweight matchup together once more.

Burns’ dangerous ground game poses and obvious stylistic contrast to Felder’s striking-based offense. It would largely be a striker vs. grappler affair, but sometimes that’s needed in order to bring out the best in a fighter.

Sara McMann

Sara McMann

Should fight: Raquel Pennington
Why they should fight: After coming out on top in what was essentially a no-win situation against a short-notice UFC newcomer, McMann pushed her run of victories to three with a dominant 76-second submission of octagon rookie Gina Mazany.

Defeating originally scheduled opponent Liz Carmouche would have done a lot more for McMann’s standing in the women’s bantamweight rankings, but at this juncture, she does have some potential decisions to make.

McMann could continue her push up the 135-pound rankings and try to make a case to fight the winner of the next scheduled title fight between Amanda Nunes and Valentina Shevchenko. The alternative, however, would be moving up to the newly created women’s featherweight division and immediately put in the name in the top tier with the few active members of the weight class. She made it clear she doesn’t have much interest in the latter, though.

With plans to stay put at 135 pounds, a matchup with Pennington (9-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who is riding a four-fight winning streak including a UFC 205 victory over former UFC champ Miesha Tate, would help build McMann’s case for a second shot at UFC gold.

Pennington is currently sidelined after a recent shoulder surgery, but when she’s ready to get back, fighting the Olympic silver medalist McMann would give her the opportunity to strenghthen her own case for a future title fight.

Elias Theodorou

Elias Theodorou

Should fight: Krzysztof Jotko
Why they should fight: “The Ultimate Fighter: Nations” winner Theodorou improved to 5-1 since coming out on top of his season of the long-running reality series with a narrow unanimous decision victory over “TUF: Brazil” winner Cezar Ferreira.

Although his style may not catch the most admiration from fans, Theodorou has only had one setback in his entire career and it was a bout where he overcame damage and fought hard until the end. That’s a trait that could carry him far in the middleweight division, but it’s time to find out exactly how far.

Jotko (19-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) has only suffered a single loss in his career, as well, but has rebounded from that May 2014 disappointment with five consecutive wins, the most recent of which came against former UFC title challenger Thales Leites.

Considering what he’s done in recent years Jotko might consider Theodorou somewhat of a step back, but with the way in which the top of the 185-pound division is currently mapped out, it’s likely the best he’ll get.

Gavin Tucker

Gavin Tucker

Should fight: Myles Jury
Why they should fight: The last time the UFC visited Halifax it was local fighter Chris Kelades who made a splash in his UFC debut. This time it was Tucker when the undefeated featherweight defeated Sam Sicilia in his first octagon appearance.

Tucker beat the 12-fight UFC veteran Sicilia in a blowout unanimous decision and showed that he could be a nice addition to an already talent-filled 145-pound weight class. Sicilia has been streaky at best during his UFC career, though, and there’s many more challenges to face before the Canadian is taken as a legit threat.

Jury (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) was once considered the real deal himself, but injuries have slowed his career progress and only allowed him to compete three times in the past three years. “Fury” is reportedly on his way back to the octagon soon, though, and easing him back into action against someone like Tucker would be a wise way to handle both athletes.

Johny Hendricks

Johny Hendricks

Should fight: Winner of Rashad Evans vs. Daniel Kelly at UFC 209
Why they should fight: Former UFC champ Hendricks put an end to his octagon woes when he defeated Hector Lombard by unanimous decision in what was likely a long-overdue move up to the middleweight division.

Hendricks snapped a career-worst three-fight losing skid when he defeated Lombard to bring new life into his career. Granted, Lombard arguably isn’t at the top of his game at this stage, but the former Bellator titleholder still represents a meaningful victory.

“Bigg Rigg” will now see how far he can really go in 185-pound weight class, but as one of the shortest fighters on the middleweight roster at 5-foot-9, he’s facing what could only be considered an uphill climb.

A fight against the winner of next month’s UFC 209 matchup between Evans (19-5-1 MMA, 14-5-1 UFC) and Kelly (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) would be an intriguing next fight for the former champ. The dynamic of a former UFC welterweight champ fighting a former UFC light heavyweight champ in Evans, at middleweight, would be interesting to say the least.

Should Kelly pull off an upset against “Suga,” giving him a back-to-back fights against former champs would give him the opportunity to truly validate him as climbing contender.

Derrick Lewis

Should fight: Winner of Alistair Overeem vs. Mark Hunt at UFC 209
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Lewis should fight the winner of the UFC 209 bout between Overeem (41-15 MMA, 6-4 UFC) and Hunt (12-11-1 MMA, 7-5-1 UFC) next.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 105, check out the UFC Events section of the site.