Sean Shelby's Shoes: What's next for Iaquinta, Jedrzejczyk and UFC 223's other losing fighters?

(ALSO SEE: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for UFC 223’s winning fighters?)

UFC 223 took place Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and as is tradition for a pay-per-view event, the main card featured five bouts.

In the main event, Al Iaquinta (13-4-1 MMA, 8-3 UFC) failed to win his short-notice opportunity against new UFC lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC). Joanna Jedrzejczyk (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) fell short of regaining strawweight gold against Rose Namajunas (8-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC).

Elsewhere on the lineup, Calvin Kattar (18-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC), Kyle Bochniak (8-3 MMA, 2-3 UFC) and Joe Lauzon (27-15 MMA, 14-12 UFC) were all handed convincing losses by their opponents.

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 Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard’s shoes, and play UFC matchmaker for UFC 223’s losing fighters.

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Joe Lauzon

Mizuto Hirota

Should fight: Mizuto Hirota
Why they should fight: For the first time in his long and noted career, Lauzon is on a three-fight losing skid. He hasn’t made it the distance in the past two following a TKO loss to Chris Gruetzemacher, which is going to begin to start raising some red flags for the 26-fight UFC veteran.

Lauzon has been in a lot of fights in the octagon, and few of them came without damage. Perhaps all of that is starting to add up, or perhaps he’s just run into a string of bad results against tough opponents. Unless he wants to retire, booking another fight is the only way to find out.

Prior to the fight many would agree Gruetzemacher was a step back in competition from what Lauzon has faced in recent years. A step even further back might be necessary now. Hirota (18-9-2 MMA, 1-4-1 UFC) is by no means a pushover, but the Japanese vet is an aging fighter who is also on a rough run of just one win in his past four bouts.

Kyle Bochniak

Hakeem Dawodu

Should fight: Hakeem Dawodu
Why they should fight: Bochniak may have lost a decisive decision to highly touted featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov, but he definitely gained a whole new group of fans in a performance which showcased toughness, grit, and possibly a little bit of insanity.

Despite taking hard shots over and over, Bochniak never stopped pushing forward. He showed little fear of Magomedsharipov, and that mentality is likely going to keep him around the UFC for a while. Bochniak previously had a stigma for putting on some unentertaining fights, but he was able to shed and rebuild his image against Magomedsharipov.

Taking the type of damage he didn’t is not a suggestible approach for every fight. However, there are some other names at 145 pounds who could bring that side out of him. Dawodu (7-1-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) may have stumbled in his UFC debut in March, but he’s still another fighter who has received a lot of praise and it would be interesting to see how he’d fair against Bochniak.

Calvin Kattar

Rick Glenn

Should fight: Rick Glenn
Why they should fight: Kattar’s promising start to his UFC career experienced its first hiccup when he suffered a unanimous decision loss to Renato Moicano.

After making his mark in the featherweight division with wins over Andre Fili and Shane Burgos, Kattar experienced a setback against Moicano. He didn’t look extremely out of his depth against the Brazilian, though, and considering he had a 10-fight winning streak prior, it’s not a stretch to think he’ll bounce back better.

Pitting Kattar against another solid 145-pounder like Glenn (20-5-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) would be a tough test and likely bring another exciting fight out of “The Boston Finisher.”

Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Should fight: Winner of Nicco Montano vs. Valentina Shevchenko
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Jedrzejczyk should move up to flyweight and fight the winner of Montano (4-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) vs. Shevchenko (15-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) for the title.

Al Iaquinta

Should fight: Paul Felder
Why they should fight: Watch the video above to see why Iaquinta should fight Felder (15-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) next.

For complete coverage of UFC 223, check out the UFC Events section of the site.